Dr. Justus Rischke, Johannes Hofer, and Christian Vielhaus are three electrical engineers who are currently founding a start-up in collaboration with Prof. Frank H. P. Fitzek. They are all currently working at the Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks as research assistants and conducting research in the field of communication networks, particularly for industrial applications with mobile robots. A particular focus of their research is on simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) – a process that enables mobile systems such as robots or vehicles to simultaneously create a map of their surroundings and determine their own position within it. This is the basis for autonomous navigation in previously unknown environments.

The idea to found a start-up originated during a research project in cooperation with Volkswagen's Gläsernen Manufaktur (Transparent Factory) in Dresden. The goal was to enable mobile robots to navigate autonomously along predetermined paths using SLAM technology. To reduce the energy consumption of the autonomous systems, parts of the SLAM application's computing processes were specifically outsourced – a key technical approach that formed the foundation for the eventual business idea. This was made possible by the use of powerful communication networks, which not only enable such outsourcing but also support the collaboration of multiple SLAM agents – such as robots or drones – to create a shared map of the environment.

Today, the start-up is working on the further development of SLAM-based solutions for various applications, with a particular focus on mobile robots and drones. The focus is on the intelligent integration of existing control and sensor technologies to automatically create 3D maps of rooms and enable precise navigation in complex environments. The team is supported by the ComNets network, in particular by the start-up incubator LaunchHub, but also by personal contacts with other founders they made during their PhD.