Robots that maneuver with precision and navigate industrial environments - this is how the Styrian start-up ARTI has established itself in the domestic economy. Now, in a new project, the company is combining artificial intelligence with space technologies for the first time to develop autonomous systems for remote regions. The new technology is set to be used in both agriculture and disaster relief.
With precision, the autonomous mobile robot navigates through the warehouse, smoothly avoiding a high shelf and yielding to an approaching vehicle to prevent a collision. While the vehicle itself appears quite simple, its true potential lies in the underlying technology: AI-based kits developed by the young Styrian company ARTI enable robotic systems of various types to be equipped with advanced autonomous functions. What sets ARTI’s AI kits apart from international competitors is their ability to move reliably in both indoor and outdoor industrial environments.
These modular software solutions cover areas such as navigation, localization, and fleet management, and can be seamlessly integrated into various robotic platforms. ARTI has not only enhanced its own research and development platform, CHASI, with artificial intelligence but has also developed a self-driving delivery vehicle that autonomously follows a person during deliveries, as well as a mobile charging robot for electric vehicles.
"Our mission is to help companies automate monotonous, hazardous, or physically demanding tasks. By using our intelligent software solutions, businesses can increase efficiency while also improving worker safety," explains ARTI co-founder Konstantin Mautner-Lassnig.
While autonomous robots demonstrate their precision in warehouses, ARTI is thinking far beyond these applications. The start-up is incorporating satellite data into navigation systems to expand its range of applications. "By integrating satellite data, we enable autonomous robots to navigate accurately even in unstructured outdoor environments, making mobile robotics more accessible in general," Mautner-Lassnig explains.
"Our goal is to make mobile robotics not only viable for industrial applications but also to create real impact in challenging environments such as disaster zones or hard-to-reach agricultural areas," he adds. The advantage? This approach opens up new opportunities in fields such as agriculture, construction, and disaster response. According to Mautner-Lassnig, the company has already received its first international inquiries: "The interest is definitely strong."
For research, development, and market preparation, ARTI receives support from the Business Incubation Center of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Graz. This entrepreneurial "incubator" provides ARTI not only with access to expert knowledge but also to technologies originally developed for space exploration. "Our collaboration with ESA allows us to leverage navigation and Earth observation technologies, unlocking new applications here on Earth. This support has been crucial to the success of this project," says Mautner-Lassnig.
About ESA Spark Funding Austria
ESA Spark Funding Austria is a funding program implementedin collaboration with ESA and the Austrian Aeronautics and Space Agency (FFG/ALR). Austrian companies received zero-equity funding of € 55,000.00 to integrate space technology or space assets/services into existing product lines or create entirely new products/services. Science Park Graz implemented the first call between 2021-2023, and the second one between 2023-2025.