The challenge that Opteran are addressing is the current approach to autonomy, which relies heavily on high-definition sensors, expensive computing, and large datasets to train models for generalisation. However, the real world presents a vast number of edge cases and complexities that make this approach difficult to scale effectively.

Instead, their focus is on leveraging the most extensive training dataset available—evolution. By studying how animals and insects have naturally solved autonomy challenges, key behaviors are identified, which are then neuromorphically analysed, separated from the wet biology, and implemented as algorithms on low-cost silicon, computing, and sensor systems, offering a more efficient and scalable solution.

Charlie explains

“The key thing for us is understanding an outcome, what is it we want the machine to be able to do? And then identifying animals or insects that have that behaviour that we really want to model. And studying that and using various techniques, so things like we’re able to put a honey bee in virtual reality and put it on a tracking ball, and we can actually see what the honey bee’s neurons are doing as it’s tracking its way through to understand its picture of the world.”

Opteran differentiates itself by prioritizing three fundamental aspects: reliability, ease of deployment, and cost-effectiveness. These elements are essential for the success of robotics projects. Additionally, Opteran adopts a horizontal approach rather than a vertical one. While many robotics manufacturers develop machines tailored to specific use cases, Opteran’s software is designed to be applied across various machines using the same core algorithms.

Currently, the company’s primary focus is on ground-based machines, particularly within warehouse environments. However, its technology is also being applied in other sectors, including drones, mining, and even off-world applications. As a startup, Opteran maintains a strategic focus to ensure impactful and scalable advancements in robotics.

Charlie tells us

“One of the things that really excites potential clients is they’re used to systems where you have to scan the massive facility beforehand. That scanning can take hours to days and it means that you have that initial setup time. When we first meet clients, one of the most important things that we actually do is we put a robot on the floor, we drive it once and it’s autonomously navigating straight away. And that can be done in seconds, minutes rather than days, hours. That in itself is incredible.”

The CAM Scale-Up UK programme provided two key benefits to Opteran – firstly granting access to world-class testing facilities and secondly access to experienced testing professionals. The expert team at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) possess a deep understanding of the company’s technology and are skilled in evaluating its performance effectively, utilising their real-world warehousing environments to enable ground-truthing of Opteran’s systems.

The programme has enabled Opteran to scale up its testing processes, enhance the robustness of its technology, and identify additional edge cases that may not emerge during internal testing. This rigorous evaluation supports the company’s efforts to accelerate commercialisation.

Given the complexity of robotics and the vast number of potential edge cases, extensive testing is essential – while simulations provide valuable insights, they cannot fully replicate real-world conditions. By increasing the number of testing hours in diverse scenarios and environments, Opteran can strengthen the reliability of its product, and accelerate the commercialisation of its solutions.

Charlie adds:

“ Having a third party validate our technology, especially with the expertise that is applied and the technology that is applied, so things like being able to ground truth our system against the real world, being able to have external validation that actually what we’re doing is what it says on the tin is massive because it becomes a huge thing that we can use to communicate to potential clients the importance and the validity of the claims we’re making.”

In the field of robotics, achieving 90% functionality is relatively straightforward, but the remaining 10%—addressing edge cases and ensuring complete reliability—is the true challenge. Opteran’s system is specifically designed to handle these edge cases, and the CAM Scale-Up UK programme has provided a critical opportunity to validate its effectiveness and ensure there are no gaps in the system’s design.

One of Opteran’s recently announced partnerships is with SafeLog, aimed at commercialising technology for localisation within the mobile robotics sector, primarily in warehouse environments. Beyond this application, Opteran has also established a partnership with Airbus to contribute to the development of the Mars rover.

This collaboration focuses on enabling the rover to construct a panoramic view of its surroundings, allowing it to determine its location autonomously. Crucially, this technology is designed to operate entirely on the edge, without reliance on network connectivity, ensuring robust performance in remote and challenging environments such as the Martian surface.

“ So we’re a low cost, low compute, simple system that can do highly complex things. So our goal is actually to be on every autonomous machine everywhere, whether it be on the ground, underground, in the air or even off world. We’re going to help to accelerate robotics into the next phase, where actually we can focus on this higher order intelligence that Opteran itself is bringing to the picture and then it can be specialised to any task or use case that needs to be had.

We’re doing that through biology, and that’s our foundation model.”