Every year, speculations abound as to what will be unveiled at CES, Las Vegas, the consumer electronics show introducing the next generation of innovations to the international marketplace. If you want a safe bet for the 2019 edition, however, look no further than the Luxembourg pavilion, where SnT spinoffs LuxAI and Motion-S will be showcasing technology that has been turning heads in the Greater Region.
Artificial Intelligence: beyond the hype
Artificial Intelligence again promises to be a hype topic at CES 2019, but both LuxAI and Motion-S have been offering innovative AI solutions since before it was a buzzword. Motion-S collects, augments and analyses mobility data for purposes ranging from insurance and car sharing to predictive maintenance. LuxAI meanwhile, produces QTrobot, an easily programmable social robot that engages with children with autism to teach them new life skills.
Looking back on 2018
Both SnT spinoffs have enjoyed a successful year. For Motion-S, 2018 saw the team close its first round of investment with a one million euro injection from FEBIAC, the federation of automotive manufacturers and importers in Belgium and Luxembourg. This has allowed the spinoff to take the next step in its journey, expanding its data services beyond the insurance market to encompass the full range of modern mobility.
Having long captured the public imagination in Luxembourg, LuxAI’s QTrobot became an international hit in 2018. Ubiquitous media and social media coverage has ensured that people around the world are now aware of their work. Their highlight for the year, however, was seeing the robot in consistent use in autism centres across the Greater Region. “Our vision is to produce intuitive and smart social robots for everyone,” says LuxAI co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Aida Nazariklorram. “This means making the robots easily programmable for healthcare practitioners, using an interface anybody can understand at first sight. So seeing real therapists using QTrobot without specialist training was a proud moment for us.”
Dr. Aida Nazariklorram with QTrobot
The CES experience
LuxAI and Motion-S are appearing at CES as part of the Luxembourg Village, having competed for places with over 100 other high tech companies. For LuxAI, however, the CES journey doesn’t end with Las Vegas. The SnT spinoff recently received the coveted CES Tech for a Better World Innovation Award, giving QTrobot a permanent and prominent place in the CES roadshow as it tours the world.
“This exposure is really important for us in creating awareness, whether in parents of children with autism, charities, investors or other developers,” says Aida. “Social robotics is developing fast, and we’re particularly excited to use the QTrobot platform to create new R&D projects with likeminded companies using AI for STEM education and early learning care.” On these lines, distribution requests from an eager global user base are flying in from around the world.
What the future holds
Neither LuxAI nor Motion-S are dwelling too much on the successes of 2018, and CES provides them with the perfect opportunity to kick off 2019 in style. For LuxAI it will provide the perfect platform to announce that as of Q1 2019, the largest pediatric hospitals in the UK, Germany, France and Poland will all be implementing QTrobot.
SnT is turning 10! We’ve come a long way since launching our activities in 2009. Stay tuned for a year full of celebrations, cutting-edge research, and new milestones.
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