Japanese startup consortium sets up robotics-focused category on major crowdfunding site

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See the original story in Japanese.

Makuake, a crowdfunding platform operated by CyberAgent, recently partnered with the i-Roobo Network Forum and added a new category focused on robotics-focused crowdfunding campaigns. The i-RooBo Network Forum is a consortium of startups in partnership with local governmental organizations in Kyoto and Osaka.

The consortium established a flagship project called iRooBo * 100 to encourage development of 100 different types of robots by 2020. To raise money for the initiative they established a crowdfunding robotics category.

Prior to this announcement, the desktop arm robot project (see video below) kicked off its crowdfunding campaign last month and raised more than 500,000 yen ($5,000) on the Makuake platform in only three days.

The newly established category will list robotics projects from the consortium’s member companies, which require financial or other cooperative assistance. Upcoming listed projects include:

  • Gadget/mobile app that encourages teeth brushing through an enjoyable user experience
  • Soap bubble generator for kids

It will be exciting to see what projects will be born out of the robotics-focused crowdfunding category.