CHF 40'000 Each for Startups Developing Greenhouse Filters with Nano-Coatings and Contactless Robotic Grippers

12.10.2020

Infrascreen and No-Touch Robotics Teams win Venture Kick’s second stage of financial and entrepreneurial support. Their projects increase the energy efficiency of greenhouse manufacturers and save time and money to industrials thanks to contactless robotic grippers for small and fragile objects.

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Infrascreen's CEO Henri de Lalande and CTO Benoit de Combaud
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No-Touch Robotics' CTO Marc Röthlisberger and CEO Marcel Schuck
Infrascreen: Greenhouse filters using nano-coatings
Greenhouses are the key to a future where vegetables, fruits and flowers are grown sustainably. Infrascreen unlocks this vision by using nanotechnologies to drastically improve the financial and environmental performance of greenhouses. Together with the CSEM under the direction of Pr. Christophe Baillif from EPFL, Infrascreen's CEO Henri de Lalande and CTO Benoît de Combaud have developed a thin film used in the manufacturing of greenhouse climate control equipments. As of today, they have demonstrated the proof of concept of their product in lab conditions. The team estimates a total addressable market superior to 500 million CHF / year. They plan to use Venture Kick funds to pursue through the R&D phase and to initiate formal collaboration with the Wageningen University in the Netherlands. www.infrascreen.com

No-Touch Robotics: contactless robotic grippers for small and fragile objects
Conventional robotic grippers are limited in their ability to handle small and fragile components. By using acoustic levitational forces, ETHZ spin-off No-Touch Robotics, co-founded by CEO Marcel Schuck and CTO Marc Röthlisberger, develops damage and contamination free contactless robotic grippers for handling fragile objects. With this technology, prospect customers in watchmaking, micromechanics, and the semiconcductor industries can save time and money by using the same gripper for a variety of object shapes. They can further improve product quality, yield, and their environmental footprint. No-Touch Robotics will sell grippers that can easily be integrated into existing production lines and will provide design-in services. There is currently no other technology in the market that can provide contactless gripping for various object shapes. The Venture Kick financing will be used to develop the technology further to serve a broader range of applications and secure the respective IP. www.notouchrobotics.com

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