Renu Robotics, a San Antonio-based autonomous robotics company, will showcase its industrial autonomous mowing platform at eMERGE Americas in Miami this May as a featured company with SBIR Advisors at Booth 557. The company's technology, originally designed for utility-scale solar farms, addresses challenges in industries where extreme heat, safety hazards, and labor shortages make traditional mowing impractical.
The autonomous robot, now in its third generation with a fourth on the way, stands 28 inches tall and spans a 64-inch cutting deck across a 10-foot platform. It operates at three to five miles per hour using LIDAR, cameras, and AI-powered Human-Animal-Vehicle detection for safe autonomous operation. This technological advancement represents a significant shift in how hazardous and labor-intensive vegetation management tasks can be automated.
What began as a commercial solution for solar energy sites has evolved into a dual-use platform serving both civilian and military applications. Through its partnership with SBIR Advisors, Renu Robotics has secured multiple Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 SBIR awards, funding critical technology advances. These include LTE GPS RTK corrections that eliminate the need for complex on-site signal infrastructure and tower communication systems that enable the robot to operate near active military runways.
"When we can find help in grant funding to build the technology and then use it in other markets, it really is helpful," said Tim Matus, founder of Renu Robotics. "The key is how you communicate with people in the military to understand the need for the use case on the commercial side as well." This cross-sector application demonstrates how defense funding can accelerate commercial technology development with broader industrial benefits.
Attendees can see the Renu Robotics unit in action during eMERGE Americas Demo Day and throughout the conference at the Garage, a new hands-on exhibition space on the conference floor. Matus and members of the Renu Robotics engineering team will be available for conversations and live demonstrations. "There's no better feel for a product and what it can do than when you see it on the ground and moving around," said Matus. "Your mind will start flowing into what this can do differently and how we take people out of the process and put machines in place to solve real issues."
The company's technology integrates LIDAR, computer vision, and AI-based safety systems to deliver unmanned mowing operations in hazardous and hard-to-staff environments. For more information about Renu Robotics, visit https://renurobotics.com. SBIR Advisors, founded by military veterans with the mission to get great technology to the warfighter, provides comprehensive capture services through proposal, negotiations, contract terms, and post-award administration. To learn more about SBIR Advisors, visit https://sbiradvisors.com.
