BOTSANDUS LTD

Their core work

BotsAndUs builds autonomous assistant robots designed to operate in customer-facing commercial environments — retail stores, hotels, airports, and real estate buildings. Their robots handle tasks like wayfinding, customer information, and service assistance without human supervision. The company progressed from feasibility validation to full commercial deployment through the EU SME Instrument, indicating a product-oriented startup rather than a research body. Their work sits at the intersection of physical robotics, autonomous navigation, and service industry operations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

BotsAndUs followed a textbook SME Instrument arc: a short Phase 1 feasibility study in 2018 (€50,000) to validate the business case, followed by a Phase 2 scale-up grant of nearly €1.9M running 2019-2021. The scope visibly widened between Phase 1 and Phase 2 — from retail and hospitality to also include airports and real estate, suggesting the feasibility study confirmed demand across a broader set of venues. No keyword data is available to confirm deeper technical shifts, so the evolution visible here is primarily one of commercial ambition and deployment scale rather than a documented change in technology focus.

BotsAndUs was scaling from prototype to commercial product during 2019-2021; any future collaboration would likely involve deployment partnerships, systems integration, or distribution in new venue categories rather than basic R&D.

How they like to work

BotsAndUs coordinated both of their H2020 projects independently — no consortium partners are recorded in the data, which is typical for SME Instrument grants where a single company leads a product-development effort rather than a multi-partner research programme. This means they are a self-directed technology developer accustomed to driving their own roadmap, not a team player in large collaborative consortia. A future partner would likely engage them as a technology provider or co-development partner rather than expecting them to slot into a subordinate role.

The available H2020 data records zero consortium partners and zero collaborating countries, consistent with the solo-company SME Instrument model. Their real network of pilots, customers, and integrators likely exists outside the formal EU project structure and is not visible here.

What sets them apart

BotsAndUs is one of a small number of European SMEs that received both phases of the SME Instrument for physical service robotics — a signal that their concept survived rigorous EU evaluation twice, moving from idea to funded scale-up. Their specific niche — autonomous robots built explicitly for customer-facing venues like airports and retail stores — differentiates them from industrial robotics firms or research-lab spinouts focused on controlled environments. For consortium builders in tourism, retail tech, or smart buildings, they offer a validated commercial product with real deployment experience rather than a laboratory prototype.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BOTSANDUS
  The Phase 2 SME Instrument grant of nearly €1.85M is the largest single award and covered full commercial scale-up across four venue types, making it the defining project of the company's EU-funded trajectory.
• BotsAndUS
  The Phase 1 feasibility project is notable as the proof-of-concept gate that unlocked the much larger Phase 2 funding, demonstrating the company's ability to articulate a credible business case to EU evaluators.