Gravis Robotics AG, a startup that develops autonomy kits for earthmoving vehicles, has closed a $23 million funding round.

IQ Capital and Zacua Ventures led the investment. Gravis stated in its announcement of the deal today that Pear VC, Imad, Sunna Ventures, Armada Investment and Holcim participated as well.

The company’s flagship product is a hardware system called the Gravis Rack. It can be attached to earthmoving vehicles such as excavators to equip them with partial autonomy features. Workers can control the vehicles using a Gravis-developed tablet called Slate.

The Gravis Rack is powered by a flat, rectangular computing appliance that sits on the roof of the host excavator. It contains not only the chip that runs the system’s artificial intelligence software but also cameras and a lidar sensor. Additional cameras and lidar modules are attached to a pair of rear vehicle masts that come included in the package.

According to Gravis, the rear masts host not only sensors but also a GPS module. The location data that GPS satellites beam down to Earth can be imprecise at times. The Gravis Rack uses a technology called GNSS RTS to increase the accuracy of the data.

GNSS RTS collects not only GPS measurements, but also technical information about the radio signals that carry those measurements. It analyzes that information to find and fix errors in location data. In some cases, GNSS RTS can boost the accuracy of GPS signals to under an inch.

According to Gravis, the rear masts’ component lineup is rounded out by a Wi-Fi transmitter. It’s responsible for syncing data to an from the Gravis Rack’s companion Slate tablet. The tablet enables construction professionals to remotely operate earthmoving vehicles.

The Slate displays real-time footage from a vehicle’s sensors. It overlays visual cues on the video stream to highlight water pipes and other infrastructure that an excavator should avoid. Additionally, the tablet’s interface displays geographic information such as elevation data.

Construction professionals can control the Gravis Rack using the Slate’s touchscreen or a joystick and pedals. According to Gravis, tasks such as loading soil onto a dump truck can be carried out with a few taps. The Gravis Rack’s AI software automates tasks such as detecting the location of the nearest dump truck.

“By giving operators real-time 3D intelligence and the ability to shift seamlessly between autonomy and augmented control, we cover more of the work, accelerate adoption, and create the data pipeline needed to learn new capabilities from the industry’s hardest jobs,” said Chief Executive Officer Ryan Luke Johns.

The company says that its technology has been adopted by customers across four continents. One of those customers is HD Hyundai Co., the world’s largest shipbuilder. Gravis will use its newly raised funding to grow its international presence and establish more partnerships with companies such as construction equipment makers. 

Photo: Gravis Robotics