Forget Silicon Valley. It’s Time For Silicon Jawn.

Have you ever had a robot stare at you? It’s an eerie feeling. Like you’re about to be taken out by a Terminator. 

“It’s not going to kill me, is it?”

“It has no weapons.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

The ExynAero hovered in front of me, blades whirring like a tiny flying lawnmower, for only a moment. It quickly moved on to scan another part of its immediate environment. 

“That was awesome.” 

It’s Not A Drone. It’s A Robot. 

Last week, I had the privilege of touring Exyn Technologies. I spoke with team member Justin Lehmann, who showed me everything Exyn has to offer. 

The ExynAero may look and sound like a drone in every understanding of the word, but it’s not a drone. It’s a robot. 

“Drone connotates that the robot isn’t thinking, and is a “slave” to whoever is controlling it. 

“Our argument is, we’re giving our robots missions and they’re tackling it themselves. If we keep informing the general public of this distinction we’re confident it will stick.”

Exyn Technologies, headquartered right here in Philly, has developed the world’s first Level 4A Autonomous Robot. That means that it does not require a pilot in order to fly. This robot can figure its own way around without human aid. 

You just tell the robot what area you want it to search and then it goes and does it. The robot essentially says, 

“Hold my beer, I got this.” 

How f**king cool is that?

Before seeing these puppies in action, I apparently had a limited understanding of “autonomy” in the robotic sense. There are levels from 1 – 5. Here’s a cute little chart you can read: 

This kind of autonomy means that humans can do more with less. Mining, construction, natural disasters – all of those industries or life-saving situations are suddenly not so daunting or dangerous. 

This Puppy Is Keeping Miners Safe

Currently, miners use what’s called a Cavity Monitoring System (CMS). It’s basically a stick that miners hold into a recently blown or unexplored cavern. The CMS reads the environment and tells the operators what is in the space. 

You can think of it as “radar on a stick.” 

Okay, so, technically it’s “LiDAR on a stick,” but you get what I mean. 

The issue with a CMS is that it is extremely limiting. You can only learn so much from technology.  

The ExynAero, however, can actively explore its environment all on its own. No need to stand there like a dope holding a stick. 

“There are dangerous jobs where employees have to capture accurate, critical data to inform business decisions. 

“They saw this autonomy as a universal way to let robots take over this dangerous work while creating more jobs in the process.”

This isn’t 1920 anymore. Kids fresh out of college don’t want to crawl into dangerous spaces and risk their lives for minimum wage. 

Operating a drone from a safe spot is a way sexier career choice. And you don’t necessarily have to have a whole lot of training in order to qualify as an operator.

“In the off chance the robot needs to be manually taken over and piloted home, they’d likely need some software and/or engineering background to troubleshoot problems in the field. 

“But that’s if issues arise.” 

“If the robot is performing normally, they’d likely need a few hours of training and testing.

“It could be something as simple as a civil service test if we’re deployed in enough places that training becomes commonplace.”

The Robot is so simple to operate that even a dog can pilot it. Take a look:

From GRASP Labs To The ‘Intel of Autonomy’

Exyn was founded by Nader Elm and Dr. Vijay Kumar in 2014 out of UPenn’s GRASP Labs. By 2017, the company was awarded Startup of the Year by Penn’s Center for Innovation and was launching its first pilot project. 

By 2019, Exyn raised $16 million in Series A round, filed its first round of patents with USPTO, and began deliveries. 

“We’re becoming well known for our industry-leading autonomy and customer service. We’re moving into the construction industry and have a growing ecosystem of government customers (like the Army Corp of Engineers and others). 

“In the past year, we’ve doubled our number of employees from ~35 to almost 80 today.”

Exyn is primarily a software company. ExynAI is the product. As the company continues to grow, they hope to become purely a software/customer service company. 

As of now, they are dominating the mining industry and are expanding into construction. All in the pursuit of keeping humans safe with reliable, efficient software. This world-class, first-of-its-kind technology is launching the human-robot collaboration to incredibly sexy heights. 

Exyn Technologies has developed world-changing technology right here in Philly. Between the Navy Yard and Center City, Philadelphia is blowing up to be the tech hub of the country. 

“There’s a rich ecosystem of talent coming from the University of Penn’s GRASP labs as well as a host of other universities nearby. 

“We viewed Philadelphia as a world-class city to attract talent from almost anywhere. 

“There’s amazing food, a thriving art scene, endless nightlife, competitive schools, and a rich history that can entice young professionals and working parents alike. 

“There’s an ecosystem of robotics and software companies in Philly, so there’s no shortage of partners and collaborators to work with.

“So, forget Silicon Valley, it’s time for Silicon Jawn.”

We’re excited to see where Exyn Technologies goes from here.