LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Demaurex SA and Genesis Robotics and Motion Technologies today signed a joint development agreement to integrate Genesis Robotics’ revolutionary LiveDrive direct-drive motors into Demaurex’s latest-generation Delta Robot Systems. The companies signed the agreement here to begin what both companies claimed is a milestone in the development of advanced robotics.

Part of ROTZINGER Group, Demaurex is a leading supplier of high-speed Delta robotic pick-and-place systems to the chocolate, biscuit, and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as non-food industries.

Langley City, British Columbia-based Genesis Robotics was founded in 2015. The Canadian company said it creates motors and other mechanical innovations that will change how robots and machines are built and move. In April 2018, Koch Engineered Solutions made a strategic and controlling investment in Genesis Robotics to commercialize inventive motion technologies such as the LiveDrive direct-drive electric motor, the REFLEX Torque Amplifier gearing system, and other technologies under development.

Combining technologies in Delta robots

Demaurex and Genesis Robotics said their collaboration to develop this latest-generation system represents a significant leap forward in the field of parallel kinematics, as two powerful technologies combine for the first time.

The principles of parallel kinematic Delta robots originated at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne with a team led by Prof. Reymond Clavel. It completed the first concepts and developed and patented the primary industrial units.

In 1998, Demaurex engineered and commercialized the Delta robot, which it said was the first to make high-speed vision-guided picking for lightweight products available to the manufacturing sector. The Delta robot accelerated packaging lines and increased efficiencies through its unique design of three translational degrees and one rotational degree of freedom, said the Swiss company.

“Demaurex’s Delta Robotic machines and systems have been the class leader for many years, and with the incorporation of LiveDrive Direct-Drive Motors, we will continue to hold that position well into the future,” said Frank Souyris, general manager at Demaurex. “The LiveDrive technology offers new levels of simplicity and ease of use, eliminating the need for costly, bulky and unhygienic gearboxes all in a much smaller envelope. This will result in reducing the total cost of ownership and promoting ease of use for our customers.”

Genesis Robotics said its revolutionary LiveDrive direct-drive motor improves performance, reduces maintenance, and increases uptime. This level of speed, torque and precision has never been available in a such a compact device with such simplicity, it said.

“This collaboration between Demaurex is significant for Genesis because it demonstrates that the power density of the LiveDrive motor can redefine the Delta Robot, taking it to a level that has never been seen before in practical application,” said James Klassen, inventor of LiveDrive. “The platform itself is what the industry has been waiting for: a high torque actuator that delivers three times higher torque density, high peak torque capacity, and the highest levels of precision.”

“Taking advantage of three foundational discoveries – magnetic amplification, advanced structural magnetic architecture, and unparalleled heat dissipation – the LiveDrive Direct-Drive motor provides manufacturers with the ability to design simpler, faster and more precise robots and machines,” he said.

“We are honored to work with Demaurex SA, as we believe that this collaboration demonstrates the powerful outcome that can be achieved when two companies with shared values, an intense desire to improve on the status quo, and a deep respect for each other work together in true partnership,” said Chris Di Lello, CEO of Genesis Robotics.