Ukkö Robotics, out to conquer the world!

Daniel Badiou and Katrina Jean-Laflamme created Ukkö Robotics in September 2016. The innovative Manitoba-based robotics company has come a long way since then. That’s why its engineers organized an exclusive launch in September 2018, to share a new line of products with the public.

Ukkö Robotics specializes in a unique concept of autonomous farms controlled by a mobile application. Though the company is growing by leaps and bounds, Badiou and Jean-Laflamme’s vision remains the same. “We want to give a lot of people the opportunity, without having to change their way of life, to raise animals at home easily using artificial intelligence technology.”

In April 2017, the young entrepreneurs were finalists in the La Fosse aux lions competition. Finishing second place didn’t stop them; on the contrary! “Since participating in La Fosse aux lions, we’ve exceeded our initial objectives. Early on, our focus was on raising chickens. Now we’ve created a new modular system that’s suitable for all pasture animals.”

A first, the new model, conceptualized by Ukkö Robotics, is already showing promise. An important feature is that anyone can assemble it. “At our September launch, we demonstrated the new machine to the public for the first time,” says Badiou. “There will also be plenty of food on hand.”

By developing their concept, Badiou and Jean-Laflamme are expanding their market of small- and medium-sized farms. As their goals have grown, so has their staff. “Our needs have evolved. We recently hired four employees, mostly for the electrical and programming aspects of our machines.”

In addition, Ukkö Robotics is now a member of the North Forge Technology Exchange business startup program. The agency offers services and resources that have proved very useful for the Manitoba company, such as mentoring and external resources. “We wanted an outside professional opinion and to know whether we were on the right track,” explains Badiou. “They pointed us in the right direction to move our business to the next level.”

In fact, it was thanks to this contact that Ukkö Robotics moved to Winnipeg’s Exchange District. Now located at 312 William Avenue, the company’s offices are on the ground floor of the North Forge building. “It was a bit of a fluke,” says Badiou. “The space came up for rent and we jumped at the opportunity. For us, it’s perfect for development, because now we have direct access to the North Forge workshop, which offers high-end equipment to develop our prototypes and see our projects through to completion.”

The future looks bright for Ukkö Robotics.  Brimming with ambition, the company’s founders are looking to expand their business internationally. “We started our projects with Canada in mind, but our goal is to market them around the world,” adds Badiou. “We know there’s a lot of demand internationally. We’ve already been in contact with people from Switzerland.”