Zeropoint Robotics, the Bangalore-based startup, established itself in the automation industry in 2019. Zeropoint aims to make the automation industry completely indigenous and is on its way to developing collaborative robots manufactured through and through in India. With Industry 4.O already in action, Zeropoint Robotics is looking forward to bringing on Industry 5.0 as soon as possible.
Zeropoint Robotics started out with the idea of unlocking the true potential of Industry 4.0 through the technology we design and develop in-house and exploring the possibilities of human-robot collaboration. Right from its inception, Zeropoint’s focus has been on developing a cost-effective, robust and quality product. In an exclusive interaction with Machine Maker, Pooja Davda, the co-founder and director of Zeropoint Robotics takes us through the journey of the company and the challenges faced while making the company completely indigenous.
Zeropoint Robotics is the brainchild of Pooja Davda and Siddhartha Nileshkumar Vadhar. Prashant Kumar Dwivedi is the current Technical Director of the company. The company’s aim is to focus on developing collaborative robots, or as they generally say – Cobots, completely in India using the technology we have at our hands. Instead of having any competitors, Zeropoint believes in growing together and that is what makes the company stand a cut above the rest.
The Birth of Make in India approach
Machine Maker has been looking out, with open ears, for the companies which make their products completely in India. Starting with the imports of raw materials to using parts from foreign countries to make a product somewhere we have to give in to the failures of making it completely indigenous. But there are companies which have been taking immense efforts and utmost care to make this possible and one such company that we stumbled upon in the Automation Expo 2022 was a Bangalore-based startup, Zeropoint Robotics.
The manufacturing sector is a growing contributor to the Indian Economy but still, there are many gaps that haven’t been addressed. If we want to bring a change then technology is the way to go. Zeropoint Robotics is trying to revolutionize that factor. To help the manufacturing companies grow in value as well as volume. The company aims to bridge the gap between the traditional manufacturing industry and automation. The main aim of the company has been to normalize automation solutions in the manufacturing industry at a global as well as domestic level. That’s what makes Zeropoint Robotics take a turn towards being completely indigenous and bring the development right to our country’s core.
Industry 4.0: The India Chapter
In recent times many global leaders in the manufacturing industry look towards India as a growing opportunity. On a global scale, Industry 4.0 is in full action but India is yet to normalize it and make it as common as possible. This is what fuels Zeropoint Robotics’ mission to introduce Smart Manufacturing Methods in India, automation which will reduce manual labour and any kind of unnecessary repetitive actions going around in the warehouse or shop floor.
Within its main domain, industrial robots, Zeropoint is trying to focus on developing robots which cater to automated material movement across the domestic manufacturing industry. Soon the company aims to go global as well. To bring forward the technology to the world which is completely made in INDIA right from design to development. Zeropoint aims to move away from and get beyond the term IMPORT and make India the powerhouse of the automation industry.
Ms Davda feels happy that the competitors are growing as well. This gives Indian manufacturers validation and can become a stepping stone for other industries. Zeropoint wants the industry to become as robot friendly as possible instead of getting scared or putting robots in a cage.
Putting a foot forward in Industry 5.0
A lot of plans to bring a new generation of automized robots in India are at work at Zeropoint and are still undisclosed. Acknowledging the true potential of Industry 5.0 in itself is a big step towards a better future. Some technologies that all industries are heading towards include 5G technology, better IOT edge technology and depending less and less on the cloud computing sector. In many sectors like defence or private firms, which require a completely safe and secure operation running within the boundaries of their company, Zeropoint is looking forward to even dealing with such companies to grow.
People tend to think that humans are going to be eliminated from the factory shop floors but Ms Davda assured us that this is not at all true. Industry 5.0 actually is better assistance from technology for humans to work even more efficiently. Zeropoint is trying to make an ecosystem which won’t require any extra effort but will deliver the products within the same time frame or even earlier. India also needs up-skilled labour to truly understand the incoming Industry 5.0. Accuracy and Speed are the two factors which redefine the industry standards.
Having a strong research team really helps you face the challenges coming from international competitors. Zeropoint Robotics makes sure that its research team is always 3 steps ahead of its competitors, which helps them work on something new at all times.
Mobile Robotics for Indoor and Outdoor Segments
Zeropoint Robotics had quite an eye-opening experience at the AUTOMATION EXPO 2022. The company went in with a certain assumption about the kind of crowds present and industries that actually need this. Their experience did fulfil their expectations and was quite good by the end. They interacted and dealt with a lot of business owners who were looking to renovate their shop floors from traditional methods to fully automated facilities.
Zeropoint Robotics was the only company which catered to Mobile Robotics including indoor and outdoor robotics segments. Zeropoint Robotics launched their very own fully developed in India Outdoor Vehicle at the EXPO which made them the highlight of the show. It is still in its conceptual phase but the production will go on floors soon. Basically, the difference Zeropoint is trying to make is that all the cobots which are in use currently are there for indoor purposes only, but considering the huge facilities in the company itself, the industry needs sustainable and eco-friendly mobility vehicles. To bridge this gap Zeropoint feels the need to bring out our very own outdoor mobility vehicle.
Zeropoint Robotics is probably one of the only companies in India addressing this issue and dealing with a vehicle of almost 2.5-ton payload. They are looking forward to helping PAN Indian manufacturing industries as soon as possible.
Having set up the company in 2019, Zeropoint Robotics was still growing itself, but within a year of the company’s incorporation, it hit a roadblock in the form of the covid pandemic. It was quite challenging to go on with the projects as the staff couldn’t come to the office and the supply chain crisis was a whole other thing. Most of the imports stopped coming in and that is why Zeropoint had to stick with in-house resources. The pandemic made the company believe that instead of depending on imports we should focus more on developing our own products and put them on a global scale. Covid has given the company the push it wanted to go indigenous. This has also given a pull to the Indian Economy.
Zeropoint Robotics managed to launch a product in less than a year and this has given them a huge boost and validation to their mission. Being a startup, exhibiting its product with the same standards as that of any other international company, has made Zeropoint Robotics the frontrunner of developing cobots.
Why domestic Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)?
There are many top-tier companies that make AMRs of European and American grade but these robots are not able to work as well as they would outside India. The major reason is the conditions of the shop floors of Indian markets. Zeropoint Robotics is trying to overcome this major challenge and make AMRs which can cater to Indian working conditions. Developing such AMRs is the main purpose of Zeropoint Robotics right now.
Zeropoint Robotics is trying to make automation Indian Manufacturing friendly. The company considers itself in the transformation phase of bridging the gap between traditional methods with automation and hand in hand keeping the Make in India initiative running successfully.
