Local technology company Genesis Robotics, a subsidiary of Genesis Advanced Technology, has received a strategic controlling investment from Koch Industries Inc. that will enable Genesis to develop and commercialize Livedrive, a robotic actuator.
Robotic actuators allow robots to move.
James Klassen, co-founder of Genesis Robotics, said actuators have traditionally been driven by an electric motor and a gearbox.
“The gearbox is the problem in robotics presently because they are heavy and they are expensive.… Genesis has discovered a way to increase the power of the electric motor to the point where, for many applications, you no longer need a gearbox.”
Genesis also maintains that the Livedrive technology is 100 times more accurate than traditional actuators. The investment from Koch will open the doors for the company to continue to develop Livedrive technology with industry leaders focused on advancing robotics.
“Economically, there has been a number of things in many different industries that have held those industries back and when that one key component arrives, we have historically seen all the industries around them benefit,” said Klassen.
“In the world of robotics, for example, sensors, and programming and the ability for the programmer to sense its environment, all of these things have been waiting for this development and there are many companies even here in B.C. that have those technologies that the Livedrive will enable to take off now because it’s the one missing component.”
With estimated annual revenue as high as US$100 billion, Koch is one of the largest private companies in the U.S.
