The close collaboration means that customers can now go from idea to working prototype to production-volume manufacturing, all under one roof, with teams that routinely and deeply partner to solve the most complex robotics challenges.

SKA Robotics and Hellbender, Inc. are excited to announce that SKA Robotics has opened a new office inside Hellbender's Harmarville, Penn., headquarters as part of a larger strategic partnership. The close collaboration means that customers can now go from idea to working prototype to production-volume manufacturing, all under one roof, with teams that routinely and deeply partner to solve the most complex robotics challenges.

The companies aren't new to each other; Hellbender holds a seat on SKA Robotics' advisory board, which is filled by their CEO, Brian Beyer. "Brian is a great human being and an asset to the robotics community. The opportunity to embed and partner more deeply with Hellbender is wonderful," said SKA Robotics CEO Spencer Krause. "We strive to work with the best. Hellbender is unmatched in computer vision and has a great culture. Their commitment to high-quality robotic manufacturing in the U.S. is closely aligned with our company values."

"Finding strong expertise in mechatronics and field robotics, and the know-how to architect, design, and build robots for harsh and unpredictable environments is a challenge," said Brian Beyer, Hellbender's CEO. "Having SKA virtually in our back pocket will enable us to more readily serve our customers' need for robotic contract engineering that falls outside of Hellbender's strategic focus."

Customers of both firms will now have access to a wider range of expertise, accelerating innovation and decreasing time to market, all without having to search out yet another team, work to build trust, and learn to collaborate effectively. SKA brings expertise in field robotics from the idea-to-light-manufacturing phases, while Hellbender offers world-class computer vision expertise, an impressive electronics IP portfolio, and high-volume manufacturing capabilities. Colocation fosters even greater cross-pollination between two elite engineering teams.

In other news, SKA also announced today it has changed its name from SKA Custom Robots & Machines to SKA Robotics. This new name firmly codifies the company's focus on robotics rooted in deep expertise and a long history of providing engineering services to the robotics market. "We're drawing a line in the sand," says Krause. "We're a robotics company first and an engineering services firm second."

About SKA Robotics

SKA Robotics is a company based in Pittsburgh with a history of solving difficult robotics engineering problems. The SKA team has worked on robotic construction and mining vehicles, industrial maintenance robots, utility inspection robots, and more. Learn more at www.skarobotics.com.

About Hellbender

Hellbender is a robotics benefit corporation based in Pittsburgh that creates computer vision solutions for industrial and commercial applications. Hellbender offers products and computer vision as a service (CVaaS) systems for applications in inventory management, street mapping, electric utilities, food service, pharmacies, mobile robotics, and athletics, among others. Learn more at www.hellbender.com.