Vincross

Vincross is a robotics company founded in 2014 by Tianqi Sun, an artificial intelligence and neuroscience researcher. The company's name is a blend of two of Sun's inspirations: Leonardo Da Vinci and the crossbow, one of Da Vinci's inventions. Sun's background includes research at Tsinghua University and Microsoft Research Asia, where he explored the neural networks of animals, forging a connection between biology and AI. His fascination with Alan Turing's work even led him to translate a biography of the AI pioneer into Chinese. This diverse foundation in AI, neuroscience, and computer science shaped Vincross's mission to create accessible and sophisticated robotics.

The company has secured a total of $17 million in funding over three rounds, with its most recent being a $10 million Series B round in February 2019, led by Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, with participation from investors like GGV Capital and ZhenFund. Vincross operates in the consumer and developer robotics market, targeting makers, developers, and robotics enthusiasts. The business model revolves around selling its hardware and fostering a community-driven ecosystem where developers can create and share applications, or "Skills," for the robots through a dedicated Skill Store.

Vincross's flagship product is HEXA, a highly maneuverable, six-legged, all-terrain hexapod robot. Designed to resemble a spider, HEXA can walk, climb, and navigate rough terrain, distinguishing it from many wheeled or stationary robots in the consumer market. It is equipped with a 720p camera with night vision, an infrared sensor, a distance-measuring sensor, and a 3-axis accelerometer. The robot is controlled via a mobile app and runs on MIND, a proprietary operating system based on the Linux kernel. This OS is complemented by a software development kit (SDK) and an integrated development environment (IDE) that simplifies the process of programming the robot, allowing developers to create complex applications with just a few lines of code. In 2019, Vincross also launched MIND KIT, a modular robotics development kit that provides core components like a central processing unit, servo controller, and battery to enable users to build their own custom robots.

Keywords: robotics, hexapod robot, AI robotics, consumer robotics, developer kit, programmable robot, STEM education, MIND OS, Tianqi Sun, all-terrain robot, software development kit, computer vision, robotics platform, open ecosystem, modular robotics, climbing robot, robotics hardware, artificial life, educational robots, robot programming