Braveheart funds Edinburgh robotics group

Published on Friday 4 May 2007 00:42

BRAVEHEART Investments, the Scottish venture capital group, has provided six-figure funding for a robotics technology company spun out of Edinburgh University.

The 250,000 investment will allow Edinburgh Robotics Limited (ERL) to launch its software development platform, DevBot, to the market. The technology is said to have attracted interest from the automotive, agricultural and entertainment industries.

The funding is Braveheart's second cash injection into ERL. It also marks the fourth investment from the Perth company's Alpha EIS fund, which is backed by Bank of Scotland and Scottish Enterprise, as well as Braveheart's own clients.

Braveheart chief executive Geoffrey Thomson said: "The mobile robotics sector is an emerging market and ERL is concentrating on bringing a product to this market which concentrates on established industrial markets.

"This investment will enable it to target key sectors, with a view to the DevBot platform becoming the de facto standard."

A mobile robot comprises a motor and sensors and is controlled by a small on-board computer. Commercial applications for the devices, which consume little power and have no cables, include automated vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers and exploration vehicles.

Nils Roeder, ERL's chief technical officer, said: "Mobile robotics is a highly specialised and exciting field, in which we are making progress in not only research and development, but also commercial product development."

In 2005, the company received a 50,000 Smart award from the Scottish Executive - cash that was matched with funds from Braveheart's Smart Equity Scheme in February 2006.

The 2.5 million Alpha EIS fund was set up in December 2005 to invest in early-stage university spin-outs "with potential for significant growth". Managed by Braveheart, it is targeting a minimum of ten investments with a follow-on facility on the cards.

Shares in AIM-listed Braveheart only began trading at the start of last month. Just days later, the group led a 2m round of funding into Edinburgh-based life sciences start-up EctoPharma, which is developing a non-toxic pesticide for the treatment of head lice.