Have you ever looked at those beautiful skeleton-like structures built to build the actual building? Scaffoldings are pretty impressive part of engineering that is built temporarily to support the construction of the architecture.
Every building will have a scaffolding made first. From the smallest home to the world’s tallest freestanding structure, the Burj Khalifa. Technically, 73% of all scaffolding costs are labor costs which means there isn’t much automation involved. Not just that, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states that scaffold-related accidents contribute to nearly 4500 injuries and 60 deaths in the United States every year.
What if the construction of scaffolding is automated and robots start building them?
KEWAZO, a Munich-based company, is automating the process by developing a robotic hoist system, the LiftBot. With advanced robotics and data analytics, LiftBot is already deployed in over 40 projects, and the company is currently one of the leading construction robotics startups in the world.
As CEO Artem Kuchukov describes,
“LiftBot improves worker safety, makes jobs more efficient, and drastically cuts the number of man-hours projects take, all while saving money.”
KEWAZO and the Team
Launched in 2018, KEWAZO is on a mission to support the on-site workforce through automated technology. The company achieves this through its two products: LiftBot and KEWAZO on-site platform. While LiftBot automates and simplifies the manual scaffolding process, the KEWAZO platform uses data analytics for enhanced project management.
Its strength lies in its founding team that converges experts from construction robotics, civil engineering, programming, and business fields. Today, the company has over 20 employees and works closely with giant industrial organizations.
But KEWAZO’s ultimate unique point lies in the sense of unification in diversity. The company boasts of a culturally diverse team of experts speaking 12 different native languages, all united with their years of experience and a vision to change the world.
Kewazo Liftbot: When Intelligence Meets Scaffolding
Talking about the development of LiftBot, co-founder and CEO Artem Kuchukov said,
“Safety, labor shortages, and rising costs” are the three factors that motivated the team to develop an automated system for scaffolding. Backed by data analytics, LiftBot can save up to 44% of labor costs. This is made possible as the system can assemble different scaffolding types in a much lesser time.
Autonomous and Remotely Controlled
LiftBot can be installed within 20 minutes and requires minimum space to operate. The system is autonomous and works wirelessly. It is integrated with One-touch technology that can send the scaffolding robot to the necessary location where it unloads materials and returns to the base location- the entire process is automated and can be remotely controlled. This is incredibly time-saving for the workers who otherwise have to control the machines manually.
Sensor Technology and Data Analytics
The robotic system is embedded with multiple sensors that collect and store data for real-time monitoring. The data can be managed on the KEWAZO on-site platform and processed through advanced machine learning algorithms to provide resource-efficient and automated industrial processes.
Smart Robot for Smarter Operations
Thanks to its sensor technology, the data garnered by LiftBot’s sensors can be used by the system to detect problems and inform you in advance. Thus, you can fix the issues before they occur, helping you eliminate unexpected failures, increase uptime, reduce maintenance costs, and optimize the overall customer experience.
KEWAZO’s Scaffolding Robot Raises $5m in Funding
On September 15th, KEWAZO announced it had raised $5 million from the True Ventures in Series A funding round. The company had raised a total of $9M since 2018 when LiftBot was just a prototype. Fast-forward to the present day, the company has successfully delivered the first batch of LiftBots to its key customers in the EU market, like Bilfinger, a significant oil and gas industry service provider in Germany.
Talking about the new investor, True Venture joining in the business, Matthias Guth- Kewazo Board member and MIG Venture Partner says,
“Since our Seed-Investment in 2018, Kewazo has come a long way from prototype to the marketable and robust LIFTBOT system. Having True Ventures now leading the Series A round takes the company to the next level, and we are proud to support Kewazo’s international development further.“
With the new investment, KEWAZO intends to expand its business in Europe and the U.S. and introduce the RaaS (Robot as a Service) model.
Closing Thoughts: Is Liftbot a Revolutionary Scaffolding Robot?
The robotic system can address significant problems in industries: Labour shortage, cost issues, accidents, and time expenditure. With a whopping saving of up to 44 percent of man-hours, LiftBot can change how scaffolding works today. The predictive analysis of the system also means industries will face fewer hassles in maintaining it, and the data provided will ensure optimized processes.
This being said, LiftBot seems to be a unique technology for today’s industries. With rapid digital advancement, it is very much possible that companies will have to switch to the most modern equipment to keep operating efficiently, and LiftBot can prove to be an emerging boon for companies looking for better scaffolding.
