'Robotics is big business': N.L. company eyeing Chinese market

A company that began as a research and development project at Memorial University has scored its first sale and has teamed up with an investor in China to try to break into that market.

"Our technology is of interest all over the world really, I mean robotics is a big business," said Brian Terry, president of Agile Sensors Technologies.

The company creates parts used in robotics, drones and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's) and has its own patents.

It's also developing products with other companies in Newfoundland and Labrador, said Terry, and expanding its technological horizons.

Agile Sensors has a design feature that allows a control system to talk to several motors at once, rather than one after the other.

Terry said the company had its first sale to a robotics company in January. Ithas also just landed its first investor a company in China and hopes to sell its products in that market soon.

"We've got interest from drone companies but also from underwater vehicle companies ... and robotics," he said.

Agile Sensors just hired two full-time staff in February. Another two will be hired in April and Terry hopes to expand even further as the year goes on.

He said technology is an exciting industry in the province right now, with big potential.

"It has a lot to offer in terms of not just diversification of the economy but export sales and foreign direct investment."

Terry said it's not just his company that will see a break-through.

"Everybody likes to talk about unicorns ... unicorns are companies that get valued at a billion dollars really fast and I think that there are companies here in town that will achieve very high evaluations which means that there will be investment flow into those companies."