Revolutionising Labor with Reachbots Automation

Reachbots Automation offers modular robotic solutions for constrained environments and mission critical tasks. Their primary focus is to enhance productivity and cost savings, and improve safety in hazardous, hard-to-access or inaccessible places with their robots. Current operations require workers to squeeze into complex confined spaces and scale heights to perform simple and repetitive tasks for long hours which can sometimes lead to complacency and even accidents. In fact, statistics show that such operations make up the highest proportion of work related fatalities. Besides this, the operational costs involved in preparing the environment such as setting up of scaffolding, and the losses incurred due to asset downtime easily amount to the millions.

MagReacher (shown in the image above) is a magnetic crawler designed and developed to address the pain points mentioned above. The crawler is equipped with proprietary technology that enable it to carry a heavy payload, and move and transit between ferrous surfaces to perform tasks while the worker monitors it from a safe location. Its modular design also enables it to perform multiple applications depending on customer needs. It is currently able to perform wireless visual inspection and fillet welding. MagReacher is also a platform technology that can be deployed across multiple industries.

The founders, Mr. Rayner Tan (CEO), and Dr. Tan Yan Zhi (CTO) of ReachBots Automation shared that the motivation came from their first-hand experiences of the challenges and risks involved in manoeuvring and working in such complex confined environments while they were performing site tests with the prototypes developed during their research project which ended in 2019. It was those moments, coupled with extensive market validation that convinced and motivated them to push the technology to market. Both Rayner and Dr. Tan have a combined experience of more than 15 years in the robotics field, specialising in the area of mechatronics and control systems design. They have also been working closely with industry to develop robotic solutions.

Reachbots Automation is currently part of the NUS GRIP Run 4 and is at the pre-seed stage.

1. Competitive advantage of Reachbots Automation

Mr. Tan and Dr. Tan were asked about the competitive advantage of their robots. They replied that most robots are restricted to operations on one surface at a time, which means the worker will still need to be close by to detach and attach it to the next surface for it to continue their operations. There are also other solutions such as drones that are able to fly to the target location with ease, but can only perform simple tasks due to their limited payload and flight time. MagReacher’s differentiating factor is its ability to manoeuvre in complex environments and transit from horizontal to vertical, and to overhead surfaces while carrying a payload twice that of current solutions.

2. Life of an entrepreneur

We were also keen to find out more about what the founders of Reachbots Automation like and dislike about their work. Dr. Tan mentioned that incorporating their own company meant that they have the freedom to work on things they are passionate about, which is something that he appreciates as an entrepreneur and co-founder of his company. However, he do feel uncertain at times because of the challenges they have to face with little guidance given to them.

As for Mr. Tan, being the CEO requires him to evaluate and weigh each decision holistically, taking into consideration both the business and commercial aspects, as well as the technical aspects. He also mentioned that running a deep-tech startup is intense and with a steep learning curve as technology is advancing at a very fast pace. It is important to make sure that Reachbots Automation is ahead of the game. The thrill of developing a state-of-the-art technology to fulfil the vision and mission keeps him motivated to push himself harder to work and push the business to greater heights. 

3. Challenges

Establishing a good strategy to penetrate the right industries is very important. An example shared by the founders was what they experienced during the market validation stage. Developing and deploying robots for the petrochemical industry seemed like an attractive opportunity due to its huge market potential and strong interest in robotics and automation. However, after conducting extensive market research and interviews, the founders realised that the industry is very conservative due to the high level of risks involved, which makes the barrier of entry in deploying robots much higher due to the types of certifications required. As a result, they had to pivot and consider the other industries with a lower barrier of entry, and develop a clear strategy moving forward.

4. Facing COVID-19

Covid-19 makes it a tough period for everyone on a global scale. For Reachbots Automation, conducting extensive testing on-site was not possible, which greatly slowed down the rate at which certain aspects of the technology was developed. However, the pandemic also did bring about a heightened awareness of the importance of the need for companies to shift from heavy reliance on manual labor to robotics and automation in order to keep their businesses alive. Based on the experience that the founders have working with the industry, they feel that companies are now more open in engaging robotic startups like Reachbots Automation to try and adopt robotic solutions for their work processes compared to pre-Covid times.

5. Golden advice

“Being a successful entrepreneur is not about the idea but the execution.”

The founders of Reachbots Automation believe that being agile is one of the key things being an entrepreneur. He/she needs to be sharp and knowledgeable about the industry that he/she is penetrating in order to make strategic decisions. To do that, entrepreneurs need to set aside time to develop themselves and learn from the mistakes of others. When having this conversation, they also got reminded of something that their mentor tried to instil in them: Being a successful entrepreneur is not about the idea but the execution. You need to find creative ways to solve the challenges that spring up because it is the perseverance and tenacity that set apart those who succeed and those who do not. We believe that this is a great piece of advice for anyone who is aspiring to become an entrepreneur one day.

For graduates who have creative and unique ideas to solving real world problems, Dr. Tan and Mr. Tan are strong advocates for joining entrepreneurship programs available in your respective universities – e.g LLP and GRIP. Apart from that, it is also important to find mentors that are willing to share their knowledge and personal experiences with you.

As a deep-tech startup, they believe that time and money is extremely vital for survival. Everyone in the team needs to believe in the vision of the company, and have the perseverance and grit to overcome any obstacles and challenges along the way in order to meet the deliverables. Lastly, it is also important to have team members with skill sets that complement each other.

6. Moving Forward

Reachbots Automation aims to roll out their first commercial robot into the market by the end of this year and that is something that we can all look forward to!

7. Internship Opportunities

Reachbots Automation is also currently looking for business-minded, AI Engineers, Mechanical Engineers and Technical personnels that can commit 6 months to 1 year. Do reach out to Reachbots Automation if you are keen on taking up one of these opportunities.

To find out more about Reachbots Automation and career opportunities, do drop by their website at www.reachbots.sg

Over here, we would like to thank Reachbots Automation for this amazing interview opportunity!

Written By: Ling Ling Woo, Kevin Christian

Ling Ling Woo and Kevin Christian are members of NUS Entrepreneurship Society, under the Education Liaisons sub-division. Ling Ling helms the role of the Director of Education Liaisons where as Kevin is the deputy director of Education Liaisons. The Education Liaisons sub-division is in-charge of reaching out to educational entrepreneurial institutions like NUS Enterprise and GRIP.