Xbot explores market of robots via education and leisure
DCI
When it comes to robotics, the image that comes to the mind of most people refers to the classic movies of science fiction cinema. However, the world of robotics is much wider than one can imagine and it can be present in several sectors of the economic activity, such as industry, defense and security, health, mining and even entertainment. The proposal of Xbot, of São Carlos (SP), is to make the market of mobile robotics gain strength in Brazil. "The market for robots in the world is extremely heterogeneous, with several segments and niches explored by dozens of companies. It is estimated that more than 7.3 million robots were sold between 2008 and 2011, with a total sales value of nearly US$ 1.7 billion. It is a highly positive scenario", said Officer of Xbot, Antônio Valério Netto.
In search of gaining major participation in the segment, for three years XBot has been dedicating itself to developing the national market of robotics. The company is a pioneer in the country in the manufacture and sale of products for the market of education and entertainment. "In education, mobile robots can be used in higher and technical education institutions to help learning. Since it is a living model, it allows the contents of mechanics, physics, mathematics, among others, to be seen and that makes the classes more dynamic and helps understand the subject better", he explains.
Valério Netto recalls a while ago there wasn't in Brazil a labor market for such multidisciplinary technological knowledge. "That is an important step in the educational cycle of the professional who learns the theory at the universities, but until then did not have the option of using and improving such theoretical knowledge in the companies", he says. The other bet of the company for the segment of mobile robots is the entertainment area, which should gain strength in the country with the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. "We created a product called RoboGol, based on the game of table football, also known as 'Totó' in Brazil. The only thing is that in the modern version, the players are controlled by humans with wireless joystick", says the executive to the DCI.
Valério reveals the company began getting structured six years ago, three before getting into operation. The support of institutions of support to research and technology, such as the Finep (State Studies and Projects Financing Agency), the CNPq (National Council of Scientific and Technological Development) and the Fapesp (Foundation of Research Support of the State of São Paulo) was crucial to develop a line of products with competitive prices. In the past 12 months the company received investments of nearly R$ 500 thousand (US$ 284.1 thousand) by means of the programs Pesquisador na Empresa (Researcher in the Company) and Programa Nacional de Pós Doutorado (National Postdoctoral Program). "With the resources, it is being possible to bring young developers together to improve the products and make the mobile robots more and more competitive for the market", he says.
The great challenge in the sector is to keep a high volume of innovation and increase of applications. For Valério, it would not be possible to have an internal team of engineers, masters and doctors focused on the activity without resources from the support agencies, because the costs and investment return rates are high, which would make the product more expensive in the final purchase. "We would not have been able to grow without the support of such funding. Now that we got ourselves together we can move on to a second stage, which is going after investors", he says. Last year the company had earnings of R$ 660 thousand (US$ 375 thousand). The goal in 2011 is to get to R$ 1 million (US$ 588 thousand).