Fences down, human-robot collaboration up for Sensory Robotics

Mark Gagas presents SR-1 technology during Ai + Robotics Summit. Photo/Greg Glevicky.

SR-1 is designed to do something industrial robotics has long struggled to achieve: enabling humans and high-speed robotic arms to safely share the same workspace.

"We designed SR-1 to continuously see people and adjust robot movements in real time," Edwards says. "This UL certification now allows our technology to be purchased and installed on industrial robots, enabling them to safely operate alongside humans without physical barriers."

The certification includes both cULus 1740 and ISO 13849 Performance Level d validation, some of the most rigorous safety benchmarks in industrial automation.

In short, UL certification is the deciding factor letting new industrial technologies move from innovation labs to factory floors across the U.S. and Canada. It's an independent, third-party stamp of approval that says, "This is safe to put in a factory," and it's one of the hardest to achieve.

The certification validates things such as:

• Can the system prevent dangerous physical harm to humans?
• What happens if a sensor, controller or safety function fails?
• Does the system fail in a safe way?
• Is it built and tested to meet strict electrical and mechanical safety requirements?

Without these accreditations, even effective technologies can't be deployed in regulated manufacturing environments due to insurance, compliance and workplace safety standards.

"These combined certifications are the key that unlocks real-world industrial adoption and approval for companies to purchase fenceless human-robot collaboration systems like SR-1," says Sensory Robotics chief operating officer Mark Gagas. "It means regulated manufacturing environments can now trust and deploy this technology into their robots with confidence."

Chris Edwards (left) with Mark Gagas (right) test the SR-1 system on industry robotic arms. Photo/Greg Glevicky.

Sensory Robotics didn't start in a factory; it started in play.

The company was co-founded by Edwards and chief technology officer Tristan Fogt, who originally built robotic systems for interactive virtual reality gaming, including sword-fighting and boxing simulations designed for safe human interaction.

But a chance conversation with an automotive manufacturer shifted the trajectory entirely.

"There was a real, immediate need in industry," Edwards says. "Factories wanted robots that could work with people - not behind cages, which take up a lot of space."

That pivot led the team into industrial safety robotics, with them bringing on Gagas later to help scale commercialization.

By mid-2025, the company had surpassed $1 million in sales, more than tenfold growth in a single year, and is projecting continued expansion beyond $10 million in revenue by 2026.

Today, its customer pipeline spans the automotive, aerospace, logistics, defense and advanced manufacturing industries, with interest from fields including:

• Automotive (Toyota, General Motors, Denso)
• Aerospace (Boeing, National Institute for Aviation Research)
• Logistics (Procter & Gamble)
• Manufacturing
• Warehouse and assembly automation
• Defense (U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)

Toyota, Procter & Gamble, Boeing, General Motors, the DOD and Caterpillar have already reached out to Sensory Robotics to have the SR-1 system installed in various industrial robots.

This is a major milestone for Sensory Robotics and for the future of factories, creating more space for people to work safely alongside robots.

Robotic arm with protective cage designed to minimize risk of injury to humans. Photo/Stock image Magnific

For more than 15 years, manufacturers have faced a persistent limitation: Industrial robots are fast, powerful and precise, but they require physical cages to ensure human safety.

Those cages take up space, limit flexibility and slow down production workflows.

Instead of physical barriers, the SR-1 creates "virtual safety zones" that shift in real time based on human movement and machine activity.

"The goal is simple," Gagas says. "Keep people safe without stopping production every time someone enters a workspace. In traditional environments, a safety interruption can require a full robot shutdown and restart, sometimes taking up to 10 minutes per incident. Add that up across a production line, and those delays compound into high operational costs."

SR-1's model aims to eliminate that stop-start cycle entirely. Watch a video of the process.

RJ Sargent, Assistant Vice President, 1819 Partner Success. Photo/Greg Glevicky

Most startup success stories have an intricate network of people, partnerships and programs working behind the scenes to help move ideas from possibility to reality. Much of that work is invisible, but it's essential.

Sensory Robotics' rise from an early research collaboration to UL-certified deployment was powered by the company's determination to solve a real-world problem. That ambition was uniquely matched with access to researchers, expertise and relationships formed through UC's innovation ecosystem to accelerate the idea into a market-ready solution.

RJ Sargent, assistant vice president of Partner Success at UC's 1819 Innovation Hub, oversees these specialized services for corporate partners, including eight Fortune 500 companies. Often working behind the scenes, Sargent and his team proactively seek to understand and meet partners' priorities. This involves connecting them with the people and resources best suited to support them while creating pathways that advance innovation.

Sargent shares his first interaction with Sensory Robotics, "During our meeting, as they described their technology, the connection became obvious. I'm always looking for ways to link partners with the right expertise across the 1819 Innovation Hub. It's one of the many perks available to corporate tenants in our ecosystem. In this case, I knew the Tech Transfer team needed to be part of the conversation."

Patrick Brown, Technology Transfer and Commercialization. Photo/Andrew Higley

For academic researchers working to solve some of society's greatest challenges, external partners looking for solutions, and venture builders looking to accelerate their efforts, the Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization serves as the starting point and the bridge between discovery and impact.

Sensory Robotics already had customer demand for what the UC technology could unlock for safety, ergonomics, and performance across industrial, athletic, clinical, and training applications.

The Tech Transfer and Commercialization team and Sensory Robotics quickly identified clear alignment between their needs and two UC inventors from the College of Engineering and Applied Science, Manish Kumar and Sam Anand, whose technology for predicting and assessing the motion of humans and/or objects in an environment could directly advance the SR-1 platform.

"The goal of our office not just to secure and catalog intellectual property. It is to understand external need and the institutions' capabilities in order build trusted relationships with innovative companies like Sensory that advance research outcomes from the laboratory to make real-world impact. Our goal, and that of 1819 as a whole, is to drive outcomes that benefit UC, industry partners, and society alike," says Patrick Brown, director of commercialization.

Next generation of coworkers: cobots. Photo/iStockphoto

With UL certification secured and federal funding in place, Sensory Robotics now enters a new phase: deployment at scale.

Key milestones include:

• $1.25 million Department of Defense SBIR Phase II grant
• $200,000 TVSF Phase 1 award through UC Venture Lab
• UL 1740 certification and ISO 13849 PLd validation
• Manufacturing readiness across regulated North American industries

This success story illustrates how innovation connects the dots and turns collaboration into real-world impact. By working together to support 1819 Innovation Hub partners such as Sensory Robotics, the offices of Partner Success and Technology Transfer and Commercialization help unite industry needs with university expertise.

And for manufacturers still relying on robotic cages, the message is simple: the fence line is safe to come down.