Friday, November 30, 2018

Cyborgs On The Slopes Of Park City? Roam Robotics Hopes So

Will there by cyborgs--part human, part robot--skiiers on the slope of Park City, Utah this winter? If a new, Silicon Valley startup gets its way, yes. Roam Robotics, a startup developing robotic exoskeletons, said this week that it has raised $12M in a Series A funding round, and plans to roll out robotic skis in Park City for rental this weekend. The startup--which, like Salt Lake City-based Sarcos Robotics--is working on robotic exoskeleton, i.e. "Iron Man" technology, said its first product is "ELEVATE", a robotic exoskeleton that it says helps skiiers by providing more control, stronger turns and longer runs. The product will make its debut in Park City, as well as California's Lake Tahoe, this winter, according to the company. Roam said it received the first round of funding from Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and also included Boost VC, Heuristics Capital Partners, Menlo Ventures, R7 Partners, Spero Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and Venture Investment Associates. Roam says it is using high strenth fabrics and "air power" to reduce weight and cost of its products. The company is targeting consumers with its robotic exoskeletons, unlike Salt Lake's Sarcos Robotics, whose has heavyweight robotic exoskeletons it is targeting towards military and other customers.