Ann Arbor-based Refraction AI announced Monday, March 8, 2021, that it had successfully raised $4.2 million in its seed funding round. Following the funding injection, the startup company aims to double down on expanding its services and product development.
The seed funding round was led by Pillar VC. Apart from this, Tech Crunch states that other investors also took part in the said investment round. These include the likes of Alumni Ventures Group, Chad Laurans, eLab Ventures, Invest Michigan, Osage Venture Partners, and Trucks Venture Capital.
Refraction AI was founded in 2019 by University of Michigan professors, Matt Johnson-Roberson and Ram Vasudevan. It is a company that specializes in developing and manufacturing semi-autonomous delivery robots designed to help deliver food and groceries around designated areas, states Crain’s Detroit.
The robots are called “last-mile” delivery machines, meaning these are made to deliver goods and groceries within a short distance. Despite this, Tech Crunch states it differs from other types of robots in that it is capable of traveling much higher speeds at 15 miles per hour.
Called the Refraction REV-1 robots, these are made to carry around six bags of groceries. These weigh around 100 pounds with a height of approximately four feet, almost the size of an electric bicycle.
Besides this, the system is equipped with a total of 12 cameras, alongside radar and ultrasound sensors. This enables the robot to navigate various types of landscape and weather, such as that of rain and snow, rather than rely on maps, states Venture Beat.
The use of the above-mentioned technologies, such as cameras instead of LIDAR, reportedly allows Refraction to keep costs low while allowing it to expand its services.
In a statement by chief executive officer Luke Schneider, he said that “Our platform uses technology that exists today in an innovative way, to get people the things they need, when they need them, where they live. And we’re doing so in a way that reduces business’ costs, makes roads less congested, and eliminates carbon emissions.”
For the technology to work, Venture Beat notes that customers will have to order from partner websites. After doing so, employees from the establishment will load groceries and other orders onto the Refraction REV-1 robots.
Customers will then receive a unique code to open the said compartment to their order. They will also receive a timely update via text message about the status of their order, notes Venture Beat. Its fleet is still being tested in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
