WESTBOROUGH — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced $6.6 million in grants to strengthen Massachusetts’ growing robotics industry and help companies turn cutting-edge ideas into products made here in Massachusetts.
The funding, awarded through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s RoboBench program, will support four projects at Boston University, MassRobotics, UMass Amherst and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The projects will expand access to specialized equipment, testing facilities and manufacturing resources that robotics startups and researchers need to test their technologies, prepare for production and bring new products to market.
“We have some of the brightest minds in robotics right here in Massachusetts, and we want to make sure they have what they need to turn their ideas into real products and successful companies,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These investments will give innovators access to the specialized equipment, testing and manufacturing resources they need to grow their businesses, create good jobs and keep Massachusetts leading the future of robotics.”
“Massachusetts is where big ideas become new technologies, new businesses and new jobs,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “By investing in shared facilities and equipment, we’re helping startups overcome some of the biggest hurdles to getting their products out of the lab and into the world. That’s how we help more companies start here, grow here and stay here.”
“The robotics ecosystem in Massachusetts relies on the exceptional collaboration across our innovation economy, bringing together companies, researchers, universities and other organizations,” said Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley. “RoboBench responds to an important need within that ecosystem by expanding access to shared infrastructure and resources that can help robotics companies and researchers develop, test and bring new technologies to market.”
Massachusetts is home to more than 500 robotics companies and more than 100 robotics research and development labs, along with leading universities, researchers and manufacturers. The RoboBench program builds on those strengths by investing in shared resources that can be used by startups, researchers and companies across the state.
The grants target several areas where Massachusetts robotics companies need additional resources as they move from developing prototypes to testing and manufacturing products. Projects will support robotics applications in advanced manufacturing, agriculture, BlueTech, health care and other growing industries.
“RoboBench grants not only highlight ongoing robotics work led by Massachusetts organizations, they highlight the ecosystem as well,” said Innovation Institute Interim Director Jody Jones. “Research and development in a collaborative environment are essential for continued success.”
The four RoboBench grantees are:
- Boston University ($573,381): Boston University will establish the Massachusetts Autonomous Polymer Hub, a shared laboratory where researchers and companies can use robotics and automation to develop and manufacture new polymers. The project will provide specialized equipment, support partnerships with industry and create opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to gain experience working with advanced technologies.
- MassRobotics ($1,988,442): Massachusetts offers strong resources for early-stage prototyping and academic research, but a critical gap exists between these capabilities and the manufacturing infrastructure startups needed to reach production.MassRobotics will establish the Massachusetts Manufacturing Implementation Center at its Boston facilities to help robotics startups make the transition from prototypes to manufacturing. The center will provide small-batch production capabilities as well as manufacturing-readiness programming and mentorship to help companies prepare their products for larger-scale production.
- University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst ($2,000,000): While the robotics ecosystem in Massachusetts is strong, there is a need to develop more specific testing environments for fast-growing and high-impact sectors. UMass Amherst, in partnership with UMass Lowell, will expand the NERVE Center with a new site at UMass Amherst focused on testing robotics used in agriculture, BlueTech, infrastructure inspection, health care and footwear. The project will include laboratory and portable equipment for field testing and create a single point of contact to help robotics developers access testing resources across Massachusetts.
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) ($2,000,000): Massachusetts has strong robotics and medtech ecosystems respectively, but medical robotics commercialization is underdeveloped locally due to specific testing needs and tight clinician feedback loops that are hard to access. WPI, in partnership with UMass Chan Medical School, will expand its PracticePoint facility to create the Medical Innovation and Training Center. The center will provide specialized space for developing and testing medical robotics and help connect innovators with clinicians. It will also support training for nurses and medical residents using robotic technologies.
Together, the four projects will leverage more than $1.9 million in additional matching resources from industry and academic partners. For more information, please visit the Innovation Institute RoboBench website.
About the Innovation Institute
The Innovation Institute, a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech), accelerates cluster growth and strengthens business competitiveness in key and emerging tech sectors statewide. Acting as a strategic catalyst for the Commonwealth, the Innovation Institute leverages deep sector intelligence, collaborative convenings, targeted research and strategic capital investments — including state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure — to attract, connect and support growing enterprises.
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