Forcen Secures $8.35 Million in Funding to Advance Touch Technology for Robots

Forcen, a Toronto-based robotics sensing company, has successfully closed an $8.35 million CAD funding round aimed at scaling up its prototype production facilities. The funding was co-led by Brightspark Ventures 

The $8.35 million CAD funding round for Forcen, co-led by Brightspark Ventures and BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund, marks a significant milestone for the Toronto-based robotics sensing company. Alongside Brightspark Ventures and BDC Capital, the round saw participation from Garage Capital, MaRS IAF, and returning investors such as EmergingVC. With this infusion of capital, Forcen aims to scale up its prototype production facilities and expand its customer base. The company plans to further develop its force sensing technology for robots, positioning itself at the forefront of innovation in the robotics industry. This funding round underscores investor confidence in Forcen’s vision and the potential of its technology to revolutionize robotics applications.

Mark Skapinker, co-founder and partner at Brightspark Ventures, highlighted the significance of Forcen’s technology in the evolving landscape of robotic manipulation, emphasizing its potential to enable human-level capabilities. Forcen’s flagship product, ForceFilm, developed by CEO Robert Brooks, won the Canadian national James Dyson Award in 2017. ForceFilm is a thin, force-sensing film that can be seamlessly integrated into machines, providing them with a tactile sense.

Forcen’s sensing systems address the limitations of conventional technologies in challenging robotics applications, offering solutions that are resilient to repeated impacts, overloads, temperature variations, and size constraints. Indeed, Forcen’s three proprietary offerings—ForceFilm, DedicatedOverload, and Synap—position the company as a formidable player in the robotics industry. ForceFilm, a thin force-sensing film, provides robots with a sense of touch, enabling them to interact with their environment more effectively. DedicatedOverload offers dedicated overload protection structures, ensuring the resilience of robotics systems in challenging conditions. Synap, Forcen’s on-board edge intelligence, enhances robots’ ability to process and respond to sensory input in real time. By leveraging these cutting-edge technologies, Forcen is equipped to address complex robotics tasks across diverse sectors, including surgical, logistics, and space robotics, thus paving the way for groundbreaking advancements in automation and beyond.

Having previously secured $500,000 in seed funding, Forcen has made substantial advancements in its journey towards large-scale production and the expansion of its technical workforce. Collaborating with the Biomedical Zone incubator at Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) has been instrumental for Forcen, enabling the validation of its solutions directly within hospital environments. This hands-on validation process has been pivotal in demonstrating the real-world applicability of Forcen’s technology, positioning the company for impactful contributions in healthcare and beyond.

Forcen’s forward-looking strategy includes the introduction of customizable offerings and off-the-shelf development kits, aimed at streamlining development processes for existing customers and fostering wider adoption within the robotics industry. By offering customizable solutions, Forcen empowers customers to tailor sensor specifications according to their unique requirements, departing from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach. 

Exactly, the tailored approach adopted by Forcen not only enhances flexibility but also empowers customers to address their unique use cases effectively. By providing customizable offerings, Forcen enables customers to align sensor specifications with their specific requirements, thus fostering innovation and driving adoption within the dynamic and rapidly evolving robotics landscape.