Furhat, the social robot
An idea during a coffee break started Furhat Robotics. Meet the research team that developed the "most social robot in the world".
The team behind Furhat Robotics contacted KTH Innovation in the beginning of 2012. They had worked on the research project, that started with an idea during a coffee break at the department for speach, music and hearing, for six months and wanted to see if the robot head they were developing could create value on the market. The vision about moving the boundries for how physical robot heads can interact with humans by mimicing the way we move was already there. Today, the Furhat robot can add jobs like non-biased recruiter, airport guide and teaching assistance to it's CV.
"KTH Innovation offered fantastic support in the beginning when we felt totally crazy to even try this. They asked a lot of tough questions and made sure we found out if our assumptions were correct before going out into the "real" world. KTH Innovation also put us in front of some of the smartest people in Stockholm, invluding business angels, which helped us hone our message.
- Samer Al Moubayed, founder and CEO of Furhat Robotics
The support from KTH Innovation
Furhat Robotics had developed the technology, but needed to find potential customers and their niche on the market. KTH Innovation provided business development coaching, funding for market research, contacts with investors, agreements and other legal issues and a lot more. When the KTH Innovation support was concluded in 2015 Furhat Robotics had secured large customers and was ready to take the next step.