Inventing solutions, our forte: Jothi Murugan of Robotex

Jothi Murugan, who has around 22 years of industrial experience in various fields like research and development, product development, production and quality management and intellectual property (IP) rights, came up with an unique concept right after coming back from Germany, where he was working with IP rights. The concept was sown in January 2016 with the launch of his firm, Robotex, and then the partnership firm was registered in October 2018. On the nature of his new business, he says, “We invent new solutions, which will solve the problems of the spinning and automobile industry. We have also put up as our company’s tagline, i.e., Inventing Solutions.”

The idea

“In Robotex, we invent new machines and components for textile industry that could solve the day-to-day problems in spinning mills or which could help to improve the quality and productivity or help to reduce the manpower requirement,” says Jothi Murugan, who is also the managing partner.

He adds, “In spinning, there may be a problem in quality, packaging or may be in spinning preparatory. We have identified specific problems in the spinning industry and have tried to come out with solutions for that. This solution could be a machine or just an idea. We have invented around 20 inventions in which 13 inventions are directly related to the spinning industry, while other seven inventions are more related to the automobile industry. We have developed prototypes for some of these inventions, and are trying to penetrate the market with these unique inventions.”

“We file patent applications, then develop prototype, conduct industrial trials and finally transfer the technology to machinery manufacturing companies.”

Says Jothi Murugan, “We are mainly concentrating on more on offering Industry 4.0 solutions for the textile spinning industry. We have developed IoT-based product for the spinning preparatory machines. It is an intelligent process identification system. It follows the entire process of the preparatory machine and monitors it. I can proudly say that I am the inventor of that machine.”

For the automobile sector, “we have solutions for controlling the doors and high beam lights. Using LiFi technology, we try to control opposite vehicle’s illuminating power. Apart from this, we have also developed a system wherein when you take a car in reverse direction and if there is some obstacle on the way, there will be a pop up on the screen, and if you press the switch, a reverse horn will blow. We are using simple technologies to come up with smart solutions.”

“Apart from these, there are other futuristic technologies that are working focusing on,” he says. “This is called inventions marketing. We have IP, and along with the model and prototype design, we go for industrial trials. We go to the manufacturers and sell the idea to them. It is called technology transfer,” he adds.

Challenge to market the idea

Speaking on the challenges faced, Jothi Murugan has this to say: “At Robotex, the major challenge is to try to make the companies understand the business model of our company. Most of them are working on one invention and are selling it to the clients. But our model is to develop new products and sell the concepts and patents. This concept is quite new for this industry, and it gets difficult to make them understand the concept. In fact, it is a challenge for me too, as I am trying to find a suitable answer for that.”

He adds, “So far, we have successfully come up with some industrial prototypes and are facing challenges to make companies understand the concept. We are selling the ideas along with the prototype model.”

“Since we are a start up, we have some limitations. We are boot stocking. We are looking for some angel investors who can invest in our company. We cannot manufacture machine at this time, but can only manufacture small components. At Robotex, we don’t have a manufacturing facility, we can only outsource it to some other companies. Design engineering and IP engineering will be done in-house. We have some consultants, and we can approach them for solutions.”

In China, around 10 lakh patents are filed per year, while in India the figure is a mere 50,000. “IP awareness is very less in India,” says Jothi Murugan. He adds, “When I directly approach a company, they say that there is no value for IP, and tell me make smaller changes in the product. This is just a myth. This is the big reason why big companies are not filing IPs. They think that Indian IP is not very strong and they can easily overcome it.”

Going forward

R&D is the heart of any company and same is the case with Robotex. A special R&D team is involved in inventing new products and machinery to provide world class solutions to the spinning mills worldwide. “We try to identify new problems and come out with solutions for the same. Right now, we are four members in the company – three engineers and one administrative staff.”

“Right now, I am concentrating more on international clients. My focus is to sell the idea and get royalty for the same. I am in talks with some German and Swiss companies. However, I cannot divulge more details on this.”

“I am looking for some financial support. If we capture 20-25 per cent of the world market the turnover would be around Rs 200 crore. The initial struggling part is getting the financial,” he says. “We have already developed a prototype and are approaching Indian and international companies. Talks are going on, and hopefully by the end of this year, we will sign some new companies,” says Jothi Murugan with a positive tone.

We invent new machines for textile industry that could solve the day-to-day problems in spinning mills or which could help to improve the quality and productivity.