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Jonathan Medina, a remote monitoring technician at Renu Robotics central command, monitors autonomous mowing units across the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Inside a dim control room on San Antonio\u2019s north side, operators keep watch over a fleet of blade-wielding robots rolling across fields in four states.<\/p>\n
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Monitors show the machines\u2019 routes and live camera views as they crisscross sites in Virginia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. But these Texas-made robots aren\u2019t some kind of new military drone or spy device. They\u2019re autonomous industrial mowers that cut weeds around giant solar farms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A RenuBot is seen in 2023 at Renu Robotics in San Antonio. The bot is now in its third generation and about to take on tasks beyond mowing.<\/p>\n
Josie Norris\/San Antonio Express-News file photo<\/p>\n
Autonomous mowers being programmed and analyzed to prepare for deployment to Renu Robotics customers across the U.S.<\/p>\n
Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Autonomous mowing units waiting to be assembled at Renu Robotics. The company is aiming to grow sales and uses for its machines under its new CEO.<\/p>\n
Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Autonomous mowing units waiting to be assembled.<\/p>\n
Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Remote monitoring technicians at Renu Robotics central command use live views and other data to monitor performance of the company\u2019s autonomous mowing units on the job across the United States.<\/p>\n
Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Renu Robotics<\/a>, which launched in 2018, now has about 100 of the 1,100-pound machines operating at sites in 20 states. Controllers both at headquarters and working remotely keep tabs on them 24 hours a day. They only step in if the robots, which resemble lowrider commercial mowers, have a problem.<\/p>\n MORE S.A. TECH: <\/strong>Rackspace shakes up its top leadership amid lengthening string of quarterly losses<\/a><\/p>\n The 55-person company first found its niche<\/a> mowing the solar fields that cover thousands of acres across the country. It\u2019s been a bright spot in San Antonio\u2019s struggling tech scene and emerging robotics industry, but the late-stage startup has seen little growth since 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s looking to expand its offerings, bring on more investors and grow under a new chief executive with a background in scaling such tech.<\/p>\n Renu\u2019s leaders think their machines, which use GPS satellites,\u00a0Wi-Fi, LIDAR lasers, cameras and other sensors to navigate their routes, are ripe for use in dangerous places like landfills and airports. The Federal Aviation Administration and military are already eyeing robots to mow, blow snow, surveil and check for debris at airfields.<\/p>\n The moves to break into new markets are well timed as the Trump administration\u00a0continues to attack<\/a> sources of renewable energy, including utility-scale solar<\/a>. That industry\u2019s growth is expected to slow through 2030.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Leading the charge<\/p>\n Iain Cooper<\/a>, a veteran of\u00a0SLB<\/a>, the\u00a0energy technology firm formerly known as Schlumberger, joined\u00a0Renu in June. He\u2019d founded the conglomerate\u2019s venture capital division and most recently served as CEO of Austin-based SeekOps<\/a>, a developer of methane emission sensors for drones.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, my background is split between technology development and fundraising,\u201d the\u00a0new CEO said in a recent interview at\u00a0Renu\u2019s headquarters. \u201cAdmittedly, I was giving money to startup companies and now I\u2019m on the receiving end of that, hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n Renu Robotics CTO Michael\u00a0Blanton, left; CEO Iain Cooper, center; and Tim Matus, founder, at the company’s San Antonio headquarters. Renu manufactures autonomous commercial-grade mowers that use a combination of LIDAR sensors, GPS location and AI software that is used to analyze and determine movement.<\/p>\n Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Tim Matus<\/a>, Renu\u2019s founder, past CEO and board member, said the time was right for Cooper to come in as the company moves from a late-stage startup to scaling stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really an ideal time to start transitioning because we\u2019ve worked on technology for a long period of time and kind of grew our early base, but now we\u2019re really in that place where we start transitioning to a different type of organization and we needed experience that Iain had,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n MORE S.A. ROBOTS: <\/strong>San Antonio\u2019s first AI-powered robot masseuse now taking appointments<\/a><\/p>\n Renu is looking to raise $15 million to grow sales and develop technology, according to Cooper. The company estimates the global market for solar farm autonomous services to be worth $6 billion and that of \u201cniche end markets\u201d such as airports, military sites, landfills and other hazardous areas to be worth another $2 billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n Matus said the company has nabbed $20 million from investors and another $7 million in federal grants since launching.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Stairsteps<\/p>\n Cooper said robotics business revenues typically grow in stairsteps rather than the hockey stick growth of other types of tech startups.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have to prove up and demonstrate each element of the path to autonomy,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re talking to investors, you\u2019ve got to talk to investors that understand that it\u2019s not a software company that\u2019s going to do a seven-x return. It\u2019s going to take some time to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n Renu generated $3 million in revenue in 2022 and Matus expected to hit the $10 million mark<\/a> in 2023 but the company fell a bit short, instead raking in $8.5 million.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe reduced revenue expectations in \u201824 & \u201925 to address product challenges,\u201d he said on a call from a renewable energy conference in Las Vegas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Autonomous mowing units waiting to be assembled in the warehouse of\u00a0Renu Robotics.<\/p>\n Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n The company held off on sales and spent the past year and a half monitoring and optimizing the units already in the field. According to Matus, the firm intends to scale up manufacturing by the end of next year.<\/p>\n SOLAR BROADSIDE:<\/strong> Trump\u2019s \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019 puts booming Texas solar industry at risk<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re moving forward on sales again now,\u201d he said. \u201cWe kind of held off a while, that\u2019s why the revenues came down. It\u2019s just kind of understanding what\u2019s happening in field.\u201d<\/p>\n He expects $3 million in revenue this year and $9 million in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since 2023, the company has also seen its workforce shrink to 55 from 67.\u00a0Matus cited \u201cimproved efficiencies, streamlining processes and reduced volume output\u201d to the cuts in manufacturing jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company plans to resume hiring after the fundraising round that\u2019s scheduled to conclude later this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u2018Swiss Army knife\u2019<\/p>\n Renubots began as autonomous mowers but the company’s view has evolved into looking at the machines as platforms for various tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n The techy term for the concept is a \u201csensor Internet of Things platform,\u201d which Cooper likens to \u201ca really smart Swiss Army Knife that can address a number of different problems for a number of different industries.\u201d<\/p>\n Renu has been testing new attachments on the robots but hasn\u2019t commercialized them yet. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a machine now that has a huge amount of capability and flexibility,\u201d said Matus. \u201cWe could drop tools, put new tools on it \u2026 go do snow blowing in the wintertime, mow grass in the summertime, look at the tarmac, pick up (foreign object debris).\u201d<\/p>\n RenuBots with their housing units at Renu Robotics.\u00a0<\/p>\n Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Renu envisions a sort of tool box for the robots, where they would autonomously swap out attachments and continue their work.<\/p>\n RELATED:<\/strong> Solar boom: Renu Robotics finds its niche in clean energy in the grass under fields of solar panels<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIdeally, you would have a rack of your different (attachments), like a tool shed,\u201d said Cooper. The robots could \u201cback up into, connect, hook up the power and the telemetry and off you go.\u201d<\/p>\n The Air Force has awarded several small business grants<\/a> to the firm and Renubots already mow grass on at least four base airfields. The service is also looking at the machines for snow blowing and picking up debris.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company is also part of a Federal Aviation Administration and DOD study looking at how\u00a0autonomous systems work together<\/a> on airfields. That work is ongoing at the National Aerospace Research and Technology Park adjacent to the Atlantic City International Airport in New Jersey.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also looking at how the bots could help at remote oil and gas facilities and pulp and paper mills, including a trial currently underway at a Georgia paper plant.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Central command at Renu Robotics in San Antonio. Technicians\u00a0monitor the performance of the units at work across the U.S. for the company’s clients. Weather patterns are monitored closely, as rain and snow become a logistical factor.<\/p>\n Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n The projects show how Renu is looking for more places for its machines to operate, especially in secured areas that are dangerous for people or difficult to access.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe complexity of the solar (farm) environment, again, meant that we can easily branch out into other industrial control spaces \u2026 airports, military bases, large industrial complexes,\u201d said\u00a0Michael Blanton<\/a>, Renu\u2019s chief technical officer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nuts and bolts<\/p>\nRenu Robotics<\/p>\n
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