HaaS 100 (early September 2024)

Hardware-as-a-service (HaaS) is gaining momentum across a variety of industries. Many of the early adopters of HaaS are in robotics, offering robots-as-a-service (RaaS) to decrease barriers to entry and improve overall value to customers. Others offer machine-as-a-service (MaaS), device-as-a-service (DaaS), or equipment-as-a-service (EaaS).

Some companies pitch outcomes more than assets, offering data-as-a-service or platform-as-a-service models. From network-as-a-service to facades cleaning; managed service providers (MSPs) to managed security service providers (MSSPs); and autonomous construction equipment to diagnostic sensors, these companies are on the cutting-edge of their fields.

This post is part of a series about modern hardware companies, their business models, and the future of HaaS. For more, see posts from January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and early and late August. 

Slip Robotics

• Founded date: 2020
• Location: Atlanta, Georgia
• Employees: ~50
• What they do: load & unload trailers in 5 minutes with robots
• Key customers: John Deere, Nissan, GE Appliances, Valeo
• Website: sliprobotics.com

Slip Robotics is the creator of the SlipBot Automated Loading Robot (ALR), a large, omnidirectional mobile platform that carries 20 pallets per minute into/out of any trailer at any loading dock. SlipBot requires no additional infrastructure, dock modifications, IT integration, or WiFi. The robot autonomously loads and unloads trucks in just five minutes. Fork truck operators never need to enter the trailer, reducing driver wait time, increasing dock throughput, and improving worker safety. Once new pallets are on the ALR, the bot drives into the trailer to be transported, along with the load, to the next destination, where it drives itself off the trailer and onto the next dock.

Slip offers its solution through a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) subscription. Customers pay an annual fee for the SlipBots ALRs, SlipControllers (hand-held devices that allow operators to control the bots), and SlipView (a data access tool that provides bot status and battery state, alongside insights on historical data and trends). This also includes all ongoing updates, maintenance, and support, ensuring the system is always performing at its best.

“Through our robots-as-a-service model, customers have the flexibility to scale their SlipBot fleets based on variable operational needs across sites,” says CEO Chris Smith. “Rather than selling our solution outright, a RaaS model allows us to offer tailored and agile solutions, guided implementation, and the ongoing support needed to unblock the bottlenecks at the loading docks.”

Q5D

• Founded date: 2018
• Location: Portishead, Bristol, United Kingdom
• Employees: ~25
• What they do: Automated wiring harness assembly
• Customers: OEM and Tier 1 suppliers of wiring harnesses to automotive, aerospace, and defense as well as consumer and industrial electrical
• Website: q5d.com

Q5D automates the assembly of wiring harnesses for the consumer electronics, industrial electricals, automotive, and aerospace markets. Q5D’s initial release CY1000 is a CAD/CAM manufacturing cell within a 5-axis gantry robot designed for flexibility and very high accuracy. This manufacturing cell replaces a traditionally-manual assembly process. The company's customers can now automate the application of wires, printed conductors, and connectors directly onto their products’ surfaces—no matter how complex or non-planar those surfaces are.

The company offers its hardware as a subscription package. Under this model, Q5D delivers the hardware, software, and services customers require to manufacture their products—all for a monthly fee. Customers build a subscription package to suit their needs. These typically include the manufacturing cell, a software license for computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and equipment health monitoring, online and telephone support, field service visits, and add-ons such as productivity monitoring and data analysis. Customization of the package includes a selection of heads to feed specified types of insulated or bare wires. 

“We’re a young company, our technology is developing fast, and we have lots of exciting plans,” says CEO Steve Bennington. “We believe the HaaS model is the best way to deliver the benefits of all our latest developments to our customers. What’s more, HaaS allows hardware businesses to continue investing in innovation the same way as SaaS companies.”

Fox Robotics

• Company name: Fox Robotics
• Founded date: 2018
• Location: Austin, Texas
• Employees: ~105
• Industries: Automated forklifts for loading/receiving docks
• Key customers: DHL
• Website: foxrobotics.com

Fox Robotics offers autonomous forklifts (FoxBots) that automate customers’ receiving dock operations 24/7. Fox starts with a Mitsubishi forklift and retrofits it with a suite of sensors and proprietary firmware to enable precise navigation, trailer unloading, and pallet picking capabilities. Fox primarily serves the materials handling and logistics sectors.

The company characterizes its robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) offering as the future of warehouse automation. Rather than cost-prohibitive fixed systems that only large enterprises have access to, Fox’s robots are low-cost and scalable. Its customers can deploy or withdraw robots in response to fluctuations in demand.

Greensea IQ

• Founded date: 2006
• Location: Richmond, Vermont
• Employees: ~75
• What they do: Underwater robotics
• Customers: U.S. Navy and commercial customers
• Website: greenseaiq.com

Greensea IQ is a technology company commercializing solutions developed by and for the defense industry. Its focus is on underwater technologies. Greensea’s primary offerings include the Bayonet AUGV, an amphibious crawler robot for surf zone and seafloor operations (e.g., hydrographic surveys, offshore wind farm cable surveys, and coastal dredging support). The Bayonet can withstand waves of up to 6 feet, carry large sensor payloads, and undertake missions of up to 100 days while collecting data on tides, water currents, and more. Greensea’s EverClean is a hull-cleaning robot for autonomous ship maintenance that optimizes ship performance, leading to fuel savings and reduction in carbon emissions. EverClean’s cameras and sensors collect data on the hull’s conditions and serve up a report after each servicing.

The company offers its equipment through a robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model, which includes a subscription to OPENSEA, Greensea’s open-architecture ocean robotics software. OPENSEA equips both the Bayonet and EverClean with functions for subsea vehicle control, autonomy, navigation, perception, and data-gathering. EverClean customers also have access to EverClean IQ, a data-reporting solution that offers maps and images of ships’ hulls, along with insights into biofouling accumulation and predictive analytics for preventative maintenance.

Aigen

• Founded date: 2020
• Location: Redmond, Washington
• Employees: ~50
• What they do: solar-powered robots for crop management
• Website: www.aigen.io

Aigen’s robotic weeder, Element, is a pesticide- and fossil fuel-free solution for farmers to eliminate herbicide-resistant weeds at scale. The company’s robotic fleet combines LTE connectivity and AI and ML technology, and is powered entirely by solar and wind. Equipped with sensors, cameras, and software that monitors and manages fields, Element autonomously navigates, uproots weeds with its two mechanical arms, and analyzes row crops to provide farmers with data insights for better management decisions. Element can weed 30 acres per week and operate continuously for up to 14 hours a day.

For now, Aigen offers its solution under a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model to control the end-to-end experience for its customers. The robots are delivered at the beginning of the season and picked up at the end, and Aigen maintains the fleet throughout the season so farmers don’t have to learn how to service the hardware themselves. Rates are dependent on crop and weed density, and farmers are charged per acre for the season. Farmers can track their fields via Aigen’s app, where they receive real-time crop updates. The company plans to offer additional services in its subscription plan over time, based on the data it collects.