INSPHERE, manufacturers of IONA, have successfully secured funding of £3.7 million. This funding will back their growth plans to push IONA into new regional markets including Germany and the US within the Automotive, Composites and Aerospace sectors.
Disrupting the market, IONA is a scalable network of sensors delivering metrology-grade positional data to automated manufacturing processes. The data is used to improve the accuracy and performance of industrial robots, including identifying and correcting errors in the production line. With IONA, manufacturers can make sub-millimetre corrections to robot positions and alignment with parts before costly mistakes are made. IONA enables a right-first-time approach, saving time, money, energy and reducing waste.
CEO, Ben Adeline comments “IONA unlocks the true potential of industrial robots, flexible automation and virtual commissioning, underpinning the trend toward advancing uses of these advanced manufacturing processes. Getting the funding is a significant milestone in our story. It endorses IONA’s place in the market and enables us to push forward with our growth plans.”
Stephan Gueorguiev, Investment Director, Foresight, (existing investor) commented, “INSPHERE has made excellent progress towards developing the next generation IONA robot monitoring and control system for ‘smart’ factories. With this investment, we’re pleased to be able to support the rollout of IONA into commercial applications.”
COO, Craig Davey summarises, “the funding will accelerate the technical development of IONA alongside the building of our commercial side to the business. We are seeing great results from projects AFFIRM and ACCUFAS and this funding will support our efforts to engage with more end-users across Europe and the US.”
