As robots increasingly enter human spaces, robotics companies must approach safety differently than when robots operated separately from people. Sonair believes its sensors can help these companies achieve their safety goals with a solution that is both superior and more affordable than popular LIDAR technology.
The Oslo, Norway-based company developed an ADAR sensor, which stands for acoustic detection and ranging. This sensor for robots uses high-frequency sound. It sends out ultrasound waves and captures how the sound echoes back. These returning signals provide robots with a detailed three-dimensional view of their surroundings. This data works alongside a robot’s existing sensors and cameras to give its operating system a much clearer and more complete picture of the environment.
Knut Sandven, Sonair’s co-founder and CEO, explained that perception for humans relies on more than just vision. We use our ears and our brain to interpret all our senses to understand our surroundings. The same is true for robots. Cameras are excellent for understanding the environment, but they are not reliable for detecting objects under all circumstances. Sonair is designed to fill those critical gaps, particularly for depth perception.
Traditionally, robotics companies have turned to LIDAR sensors, which use beams of light, to gather spatial information. Sandven stated that Sonair’s sensors are a better option because they can capture more comprehensive data. He compared LIDAR to swiping a laser pointer across a room, while their technology is like shouting to fill the entire room with sound.
The sensor’s output is structured in a standard industry format, making it compatible with a wide variety of robotic hardware and software. The company released its sensor earlier this year and has since seen strong demand from the robotics field, with multiple companies planning to incorporate the technology into their next robot models.
Sonair has also seen significant interest from the industrial safety sector. Companies are using the sensors to detect when people enter hazardous areas with heavy machinery, allowing the equipment to be automatically shut off before an accident can occur.
To scale up the adoption of its technology, Sonair recently raised a six million dollar funding round. The investment included both new and returning investors such as Scale Capital, Norway’s state-backed Investinor, and ProVenture. Sandven noted that investors active in robotics immediately understood the problem the company aims to solve. This is unsurprising, as safety is becoming a major concern with robots interacting more closely with humans, echoing the safety discussions from the early days of the self-driving car industry.
Fady Saad, a general partner at robotics-focused Cybernetix Ventures, recently noted that potential safety concerns are a significant reason he does not expect people to want humanoid robots in their homes soon. He referred to the many unaddressed safety and security issues as a kind of dirty secret, highlighting that a falling robot could seriously injure a pet or child.
Sandven said that Sonair does not currently have direct competition for its sonar-based sensors, but that could change as more companies seek safety solutions for robots. His goal is to have this technology in all robots, just as cameras are standard today. He believes that within a year, the industry will have a clear indication if that is the direction they are heading.