A group of UK companies are waiting to reap the benefits of an initiative that spans the European robotic industry. 64 vouchers have been given out via this initiative that will allow the recipient the chance to receive highly-specialised consultancy from a wide variety that includes the best robotics experts across Europe. The intention behind this scheme is to bring the recipients ideas to fruition.

A selection of British companies has been given a ‘golden ticket’. 25 different companies have secured the opportunity to have a consultancy from the industry experts. Automata Technologies, Hexagon Metrology, Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) and Russell Finex were amongst the latest UK beneficiaries form the second and final round of the Voucher programme. The ROBOTT-NET Voucher Programme saw 64 vouchers in total handed out in this Europe-wide scheme.

Across 12 European countries a total of 166 companies applied for the voucher which were handed out by the European robotic technology transfer network. This network has been created by a collaboration between the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, the Danish Technological Institute, Fraunhofer IPA from Germany and the Spanish Tecnalia. The voucher scheme has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

The businesses that applied for the vouchers ranged across business start-ups, SMEs and large companies and institutions. From the 64 winning vouchers only eight companies will be selected for further assistance which will include funding that would go towards a pilot project.

The intention of these vouchers is to give companies the chance to expand and develop their robot technologies. This scheme could be great for the UK economy because these technologies will lead to the increase in productivity and jobs in the businesses that have received a voucher. Also the potential is there for the businesses to grow and market share both locally and on an international stage.