LabsCubed robot combines functionality, aesthetics

KITCHENER, Ontario—Khaled Boqaileh doesn't just look to solve problems, he hopes to spark evolutions.

In 2016, when he and his fellow LabsCubed Inc. co-founders Jeffrey Petraca and Ammar Jafar embarked on an entrepreneurial venture they hoped would help the rubber industry's testing capabilities evolve, they did so with big ideas and fresh perspectives. For them, solving some of the rubber industry's biggest scientific challenges meant building solutions the best way they knew how: with more science.

"I see a problem and I want to put robots in front of it," said Boqaileh, who serves as LabsCubed CEO.

But not just any robot. For Boqaileh and his team, it had to be the CubeOne, a tensile- and tear-testing robot that's as attractive as it is functional.

It's designed with a modern look—dark, durable materials and curved edges—and 21st-century technology—touch screens, built-in cameras and cloud-based data storage and analytics. It's intended to look as innovative and forward-thinking as the rubber laboratories that use it.

"Our goal was to produce something that the rubber industry, the laboratories and people sitting in those labs could be really excited about," Boqaileh said. "It means something important to them, and we wanted to make sure the design conveyed that."

Earlier this year, the LabsCubed team received confirmation that CubeOne was sending the right message. The product earned the 2020 European Design Award in the industrial robot category for its ability to combine functionality and aesthetics into a single, sleek package.

For Boqaileh, the award proved the CubeOne not only acts like an essential piece of testing equipment—one that ensures efficient, replicated testing and data analytics—it fully looks the part.

"It's not just design for design's sake," Boqaileh said. "We are about bringing new technology into the industry and making the labs look as amazing as we think they are. They are doing great things—amazing things—but they look kind of old school to some people."

Much of the equipment used throughout the rubber industry looks dated, Boqaileh said. That's not to say that the equipment isn't serving the needs of the lab or that the industry itself isn't routinely pushing innovation further.

It's just that perception is everything.

In 2016, when LabsCubed was just coming together as a start-up, incubator company, the aim was to create a product that took testing further by tapping the capabilities of data storage and analytics. What resulted was a machine that automatically loads and unloads up to 12 samples at a time and routinely ensures accurate, consistent testing with the use of smart grip technology.

Once the heart and soul of the product had been refined, it was critical to find the right packaging. That's why LabsCubed partnered with Joseph Hofer of Hofer Studio, the design firm responsible for several iconic brand designs, including the BlackBerry.

LabsCubed wanted its robot to catch the eye of industry veterans and students alike. Yes, Boqaileh and his team wanted to create one of the industry's most reliable testing products, but also they wanted it to inspire.

"It is important for our industry to adopt new technology and show the younger generation that we are adopting new technology," Boqaileh said. "That is not the only way we are attracting new talent, but it is a big part of it. Something like that—to young students, engineering students, or school students—at least it looks like something they understand. It's something they can envision themselves working on in the future."

Turns out, it wasn't just the next generation of rubber industry professionals who saw themselves working with the CubeOne. A number of industry veterans saw the same, and that led to some exponential growth for LabsCubed.

Without disclosing specific figures, Boqaileh noted that the company had exceeded its established sales, production and employment goals. The start-up company had outgrown the incubator that gave it life.

"Sales were ramping up … and the production team was growing," Boqaileh said with a laugh. "We were taking up a lot of space, so they nicely told us to get the heck out."

Truthfully, it was time for LabsCubed to find a place of its own. The company had grown to the point where it could spread its wings, find its way and survive outside of the incubator. So in March, LabsCubed jumped from the nest and moved into its new home, a 6,000-sq.-ft. space in Kitchener that offers room for office space and manufacturing.

Only LabsCubed didn't quite get the chance to settle in.

"We timed that perfectly," Boqaileh said with a smile. "We moved into our new digs March 15, and then everything started shutting down at the end of that week (due to COVID-19). … We only got to see the office for a day or two max."

Transitioning to work-from-home wasn't a huge challenge for the LabsCubed team, which has eight employees. They easily adapted to the daily virtual meetings and Friday game nights.

What the team missed the most were the everyday exchanges—casual conversations in hallways and at the coffee pot—that could lead to new ideas, problem solving or new perspectives.

"You don't realize the conversations you have every day," Boqaileh said. "We had to learn to make up for that lack of communication."

While the COVID-19 pandemic presented some challenges for LabsCubed, it also presented a number of opportunities for the team to drill down and focus on some of the more time-consuming projects that get overshadowed by the day-to-day operations.

"It was interesting because the pause gave us a minute to work on certain things," Boqaileh said. "So we are able to bring that work to the forefront, and we stayed busier than normal as a team on the R&D side of things."

The result, he said, is an all-around better CubeOne, one with improved software and capabilities.

"Our goal is to implement new and innovative technologies, not just for the sake of implementing them, but (looking at) how do we bring a natural, positive impact to the people who have to work in the labs across the division that we are working with," Boqaileh said.

And the LabsCubed innovative approach to that goal is simple: Put the right robot in the right place.