The Robot That Revolutionizes Electrical Systems
The revolutionary robot, WIREBOT, developed by Polygon Technologies in Israel, can wire electrical panels in a quarter of the time it takes to do it manually. The potential market – only in the field of control and electrical panels for facilities and systems – is estimated at 250 billion dollars a year
In the first quarter of 2024, Polygon Technologies intends to launch a patent-protected robotic wiring system, which will probably revolutionize the world of electrical systems (wiring and assembly). Its potential market, only in the field of control and electrical panels for facilities and systems, is estimated at 250 billion dollars a year.
Polygon Technologies is owned by three partners – Doron Shabanov, Rom Eisenberg, and Omer Einav, who is also the CEO. The company was established in 1999, and Einav first knew it as a client: "I was developing medical robots, and found that Polygon was the strongest robotics design group, with the most talented people in the field". Einav, originally a mechanical engineer, has a Master's degree in Robotics Engineering from Imperial College London. In the past, he managed a robotics company in the US. "I worked with Polygon for about a decade, and in 2011, I joined Doron and
Rom as partner and CEO".
According to Einav, Polygon Technologies is the leading "engineering house for robotics" in Israel that provides products and services from concept, specifications definition through development and production. Polygon's customers-pool is wide – from large companies such as Israel Aerospace Industries, APS USA, ALBAAD, Elcam Medical to young startup ventures.
Over the years, the company has developed robotic solutions for logistic warehouses; smart welding solutions; large-scale 3D printers; medical skin scanners; robotic security systems; and more. Its technical staff includes about 40 employees, mostly software engineers, mechanical engineers, control engineers, and electrical engineers.
The Tactile Sensing and Wiring Robot
At present, as mentioned, the company is at a turning point: During the last four years, Polygon succeeded in developing a first-of-its-kind, revolutionary robotic product in the field of wiring. Einav: "We identified a problem in robotics. Robots find it hard to cope with flexible components such as gaskets, fibers, electrical wires, etc. Therefore, development attempts were unsuccessful. Each control system has a wire panel, each electrical panel is manually wired, and our system can perform the wiring much faster and much more accurately".
He says that the challenges they overcame at Polygon Technologies when developing the robotic wiring system include copying human abilities to robotics in groundbreaking fields such as haptic and tactile feedback, artificial vision, using a pair of arms, and information processing. "Our solution includes robotics and digital twin components with AI elements. We developed a digital model of the process with optimization engines, and registered six patents on the system, including Slip & Grip for wire grasping – a simple task for an electrician, but difficult for a robot – or a pair of wiring arms that work simultaneously, or passing a wire through an obstacle, and more", he noted, and added that part of the development process was done in collaboration with Ben Gurion University and the Technion.
Streamlining that any organization would want
For this revolutionary development, Polygon raised five million dollars about a year ago from the Automotive Equipment Group (MACHSHIREY TNUA -Tzvi Neta Holdings), which realized this development's great potential. According to Einav, the company intends to raise an additional sum later on this year, and intends to launch the system, which is now in its final integration stages, during the first quarter of 2024. At the first stage, the system will be launched for the execution of electrical panel wiring.
Einav emphasizes that this system has great potential. "Wiring can be found in every home, office and factory; in every electronic product, machine and system; in every home appliance; in cars and airplanes. At present, all electrical wiring is performed manually by professionals (electricians, practical engineers). This is a 250-billion-dollar a year market. Research conducted at Stuttgart University in Germany found that manual wiring takes 4.5 minutes whereas our system can do it in one minute. This is the kind of streamlining that any organization would want. Also, the optimized and precise wiring can create copper savings compared to manual wiring. I believe that a large organization could save about 10% of its costs just on the raw materials for its control and electric panels, in addition to reduced labor costs and improved reliability".
Developing new applications
The potential is starting to be realized. Polygon Technologies has already received a first 600-thousand-Euro order, and has recently signed a marketing agreement with a significant European manufacturer that has committed to purchasing 14 systems, and will join forces with Polygon at an international exhibition next year.
Einav makes a point of thanking the Israel Innovation Authority, "It provided us with financial support and a tailwind that was very helpful when developing the system".
What is your Vision?
"The company's vision, after we succeed with the robotic electric wiring, is to develop haptic sensing capabilities for other applications; for example, sensitive medical systems, remote operation systems that include tactile feedback, systems for delicate mechanical assembly, and building a methodology and use of sensitive robotic fingers for critical tasks that currently cannot be done by robots".
In cooperation with Polygon Technologies
