The Centre’s Catalysts series shines a light on the diverse organisations, from tenants and innovators to collaborators and members, who fuel our ecosystem here at iAero.
We explore the unique capabilities and expertise they bring, demonstrating the collective power that makes our Centre a hub of opportunity and growth. Their success is our success, and their contributions are the reason to join our vibrant community and support the growth of the aerospace, advanced manufacturing and engineering sectors in Somerset.
Next in the series is Cyclopic.
Based in the South West, the core challenge for Cyclopic was to engineer an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) capable of mastering steep inclines and maintaining perfect balance from warehouse floors to challenging terrains. This required a solution that ensured precision load control with agile, safe movement, providing the versatile foundations needed to disrupt multiple sectors and multidomain applications.
Over eight years of innovation, the award-winning start-up has effectively reimagined the wheel. Their revolutionary electric vehicle unit stands as a testament to the power of British engineering and an ingenious entrepreneurial spirit.
Drawing on his distinguished knowledge in mechanical engineering – with expertise spanning British icons like Concorde, the Thames Flood Barrier, and shipyards – CEO Alan Rallings has applied his technical expertise to engineer a revolutionary EV platform that disrupts conventional logic and reinvents mechanical formulas.
Key Projects & Successes
Featuring four independently acting centreless wheels with 360-degree manoeuvrability – the motors sit outside the wheels – the platform integrates AI whilst significantly improving unsprung weight. This is bolstered by increased pitch and roll protection to maintain a level vehicle bed, a capability rigorously validated through a Digital Twin simulation developed under the Innovate UK Bridge AI project which was in collaboration with the Alan Turing Institute.
The modular EV platform combines steering, braking, drive, and suspension with precision lifting capabilities into a single, scalable unit. The system can be adapted to drive diverse applications across ground, traverse uneven surfaces, and even air domains, by providing the agile foundations for autonomous PODs and logistics to multidomain sectors, including agri-tech, defence, and space.
The Cyclopic team has secured 16 patents and all eyes are focussed on the prototype from the US, Asia Pacific, to the Middle East.
Alan Rallings, CEO and Founder of Cyclopic Ltd, said: “Cyclopic has developed a mobility concept that can scale into a global technological solution across domains and sectors. The modularity of the platform enables simple and agile movements that could replace heavy machinery through our autonomous Cyclopic-driven technology.”
Cyclopic and iAero
Before iAero, the team was based primarily at their workshop in Dorset. The collaboration with the iAero Centre (discovered via the South West Defence and Security Cluster) acted as the ultimate catalyst.
As iAero provided a “shop window” for the Cyclopic team – a professional space to move out of their workshop and into the spotlight – serving as a venue for exhibitions, strategic collaborations, and high-level networking.
Furthermore, it was at the Centre where Cyclopic met Mark 3D (learn more here). This partnership enabled the creation of a demonstrator robot using advanced composite 3D printing, allowing the team to iterate quickly and showcase a physical modular EV platform at significant events in the UK and overseas.
Carol Rallings, COO and Founder of Cyclopic Ltd commented: “We are a UK company leading inventions. What Cyclopic has developed is a new idea for the UK that showcases British engineering for the global market. It shows British determination – and it’s all happening right here in the South West. The ability to have a professional and modern space at iAero enables us to elevate our technological innovation to world-leading manufacturers and global companies.”