5 Minutes with… Smith Robotics Ltd
We sat down with Ryan & Katie Smith from Smith Robotics Ltd for 5 minutes to discuss and explore future plans for their company.
How did you start your company?
Our company was founded in July 2022, but officially became Smith Robotics in October 2022, when Ryan took the leap by working with clients who needed guidance on getting their ideas off the ground. Based on years of experience in the aerospace and defence sector, Ryan wanted to start his own company after noticing a gap in the market for an affordable alternative to traditional design houses.
After a few months, Katie left her job to help Ryan in his journey to continue to develop his company further.
What are you working on at the moment?
At the moment we are focusing on Agri-Tech, with an Innovate UK Grant, helping us to run our own project into monitoring tree health, and to aid regenerative agriculture. We are working with a number of high profile organisations to monitor biodiversity, soil health and air quality. We have even managed to place some of our sensors to test at the Wood Centre for Innovation in Headington Oxford. We hope to have much more exciting news in the next 6 months with many more sensors going out to client projects!
What do you like about the Harwell Innovation Centre?
Harwell Innovation Centre has really helped us grow the business, having our own space to work in and being able to expand that space has really helped us. Having our location in Harwell as well, customers tend to trust us more as they have heard of it! We have made many connections within Innovation Centre, and we couldn’t be happier! Tracey, Michelle, Anne and Ruby are so friendly and have helped us throughout our journey here, and we are so thankful for that!
What projects/ambitions do you have for the future of your company?
We have so many ambitions, which is what keeps us going! We are wanting this company to continue to grow and expand, and we want our team to get larger as well. We want to be known throughout the Agri-Tech community as the company people go to when they have a need for custom electronics! We are passionate about the environment and how technology can make the world a better place, so we choose clients with this in mind.
Currently, we are working with a big client who are developing a energy saving device, so you may see us in shops very soon!
To stay up to date with Smith Robotics, follow their blog!
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