NCCR Robotics
NCCR Robotics was the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research Robotics, a publicly funded consortium operating from 2010 to 2022 that developed collaborative robots across wearable, rescue, and educational robotics. Led by EPFL and ETH Zurich under SNSF funding, it produced 16 spin-off companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersLausanne, Switzerland
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What NCCR Robotics does
NCCR Robotics was the National Centre of Competence in Research Robotics, a Swiss publicly funded research consortium that operated from 2010 to December 2022 under the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The program was hosted at EPFL as the leading house, with ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich as co-leading houses, plus the University of Bern, Empa, IDSIA, and the University of Basel as partner institutions. Research was organized around three application streams: wearable robotics (ReGait++ gait rehabilitation, Third Arm human augmentation, MyoSuit exoskeleton), rescue robotics (autonomous flying and legged robots), and educational robotics (Cellulo and Thymio teaching platforms).
The consortium did not operate as a commercial enterprise. Funding flowed from SNSF and was supplemented by partner institutions; outputs were academic publications, intellectual property, and technology transfer rather than priced products. Over its 12-year operating window, NCCR Robotics produced approximately 500 peer-reviewed journal articles and 500 peer-reviewed conference papers, and generated 16 spin-off companies — including ANYbotics (autonomous legged inspection), Flyability (collision-tolerant drones), Sevensense Robotics (computer vision for autonomous robots), and Bota Systems (force sensing). A dedicated Spin-Fund program provided seed support for new ventures built on consortium research.
The program's website ceased being updated from December 2022, marking the formal end of NCCR Robotics. Successor activity is limited to NTN Innovation Booster Robotics as a continuing innovation-support channel.
NCCR Robotics firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NCCR Robotics
- Legal name
- National Centre of Competence in Research Robotics (NCCR Robotics)
- Website
- https://nccr-robotics.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- NCCR Robotics was the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research Robotics, a publicly funded consortium operating from 2010 to 2022 that developed collaborative robots across wearable, rescue, and educational robotics. Led by EPFL and ETH Zurich under SNSF funding, it produced 16 spin-off companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NCCR Robotics industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Robotics Research Services
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Collaborative Robots (Cobots) (IMAHAHAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins) (HDAAAIAK), Robotics Learning Platforms (EDAFANAB), Industrial Robotics & Cobots (IMAIAMAB)
Keywords
Where NCCR Robotics is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lausanne
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
NCCR Robotics business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Marketing channels8 records
NCCR Robotics product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NCCR Robotics was a multi-institutional Swiss research consortium that developed collaborative robots designed to work alongside humans across three application areas: wearable robotics for rehabilitation and mobility assistance, rescue robotics for disaster response and inspection, and educational robotics for teaching. The consortium produced research outputs, peer-reviewed publications, and spin-off companies commercializing its technology over a 12-year operational period from 2010 to 2022.
Product overview
NCCR Robotics was a Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research focused on developing collaborative robotics from 2010 to 2022. The research portfolio spanned three main areas: wearable robotics (including ReGait++ gait rehabilitation, Third Arm augmentation, and MyoSuit training facilitation), rescue robotics (autonomous flying and legged robots), and educational robotics (Cellulo and Thymio teaching robots). The consortium produced approximately 500 peer-reviewed journal articles and 500 conference papers, and spawned 15+ spin-off companies including ANYbotics, Flyability, Sevensense Robotics, and Bota Systems. From December 2022, the website is no longer actively updated.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Thymio Educational Robot
- Cellulo Educational Robotics Platform
- MyoSuit Wearable Robot Wearable exoskeleton robot that facilitates training for individuals with limited mobility, used in clinical studies for rehabilitation applications. Commercialized through spin-off MyoSwiss.
Quantifiable outcome
- 500 peer-reviewed journal articles and 500 conference papers published over 12 years
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use NCCR Robotics
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
NCCR Robotics technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature5 records
NCCR Robotics partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)coreLeading house of the consortium. EPFL served as the primary coordinating institution for NCCR Robotics research activities.
- ETH Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich)coreCo-leading house of the consortium. ETH Zurich provided co-leadership and contributed significant research expertise to the robotics program.
- University of Zurich (UZH)corePartner institution contributing research expertise, particularly in flying robotics and autonomous systems.
- IDSIA (Istituto Dalle Molle di Studi sull'Intelligenza Artificiale)coreItalian-Swiss research institute contributing AI and machine learning expertise to robotics research.
- University of Bern (UNIBE)majorSwiss university contributing research capabilities to the consortium's robotics programs.
- Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology)majorMaterials research laboratory contributing expertise in robotics materials and sensors.
- University of BaselmajorSwiss university contributing to the consortium's research ecosystem.
- NTN Innovation Booster RoboticsminorInnovation support organization continuing robotics innovation activities after NCCR Robotics concluded its program in 2022.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
NCCR Robotics competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Berkeley BAIR (Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research): UC Berkeley's multi-faculty AI and robotics research initiative, broadly comparable in structure as a multi-PIs, multi-domain academic research consortium producing robotics research and spin-offs.
- MIT CSAIL: MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory houses large-scale robotics research programs with comparable publication output, talent density, and industry transfer pathways.
- INRIA (French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology): France's national public research institute operating multi-team robotics research across multiple universities, structurally analogous to NCCR Robotics as a government-funded, multi-site robotics consortium producing both research output and spin-offs.
- Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems: German Max Planck Society institute focused on robotics, computer vision, and embodied AI, with comparable academic research output and a strong wearable and autonomous systems profile mirroring NCCR's three vertical structure.
- ETH AI Center: ETH Zurich-affiliated cross-disciplinary AI and robotics research hub that absorbed part of the NCCR talent base after the program ended, making it the closest institutional successor and direct peer in the Swiss ecosystem.
- Italian Institute of Technology (IIT): Italian national research foundation with major robotics programs (including iCub humanoid and wearable robotics), directly comparable to NCCR's wearable and collaborative robotics focus.
- Stanford AI Lab (SAIL): Stanford's flagship AI and robotics research lab with comparable autonomous systems, manipulation, and human-robot interaction research, and a similar track record of spin-offs and industry partnerships.
- Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute: One of the world's largest dedicated robotics research institutes at a leading US university, comparable to NCCR in terms of research breadth across manipulation, mobility, and field robotics plus strong spin-off culture.
Emerging players
- Flyability: NCCR Robotics spin-off commercializing collision-tolerant drones for confined-space inspection, a direct technology and lineage peer emerging from NCCR's rescue robotics research program.
- ANYbotics: NCCR Robotics spin-off commercializing autonomous legged robots for industrial inspection; representative of the NCCR spin-off ecosystem and a comparable robotics company operating in the same legged-robotics vertical NCCR developed.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NCCR Robotics social profiles
Digital presenceNCCR Robotics financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NCCR Robotics leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
NCCR Robotics funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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NCCR Robotics M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about NCCR Robotics
What does NCCR Robotics do?
NCCR Robotics was a multi-institutional Swiss research consortium that developed collaborative robots designed to work alongside humans across three application areas: wearable robotics for rehabilitation and mobility assistance, rescue robotics for disaster response and inspection, and educational robotics for teaching. The consortium produced research outputs, peer-reviewed publications, and spin-off companies commercializing its technology over a 12-year operational period from 2010 to 2022.
Is NCCR Robotics a public or private company?
NCCR Robotics is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently closed.
When was NCCR Robotics founded?
NCCR Robotics was founded in 2010. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is NCCR Robotics based?
NCCR Robotics is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
Who are NCCR Robotics's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Berkeley BAIR (Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research), MIT CSAIL, INRIA (French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology), Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, ETH AI Center, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Stanford AI Lab (SAIL) and Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. Emerging players are Flyability and ANYbotics.
Does NCCR Robotics have an API?
No public API is recorded for NCCR Robotics.
What industry is NCCR Robotics in?
NCCR Robotics's product category is Robotics Research Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHAHAB, Collaborative Robots (Cobots), with a secondary code of HDAAAIAK, Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.