Need something that doesn't exist? Sandworx's “inventors” from Algarve help

Sandworx is developing prototypes in the area of ​​smart cities

João Duarte, left, and Mário Saleiro

They created the company Sandworx in February 2017, but they have been “inventing” things since 2011. Mário Saleiro and João Duarte are what you can call inventors: they create robots and equipment that do not exist on the market, adapted to the needs of those looking for them. Ciência Viva centers or industries are some of the clients of these young graduates from the University of Algarve, who combine creativity with knowledge in areas such as mechanics, electronics and software.

It all started with the E-lab Hackerspace, a community student lab, that shone at fairs in Lisbon with their creations, including educational robots "Infants". The work developed caught the attention of customers who needed products adapted to their needs.

«We got together, at that time, to learn, for the fun and exchange of experiences. Then we started to see people showing up who wanted us to develop something, and we noticed that there was demand for a type of service, that there was no one to provide it. From there, Sandworx was born», tells Mário Saleiro to Sul Informação.

“We like a lot: mechanics, digital printing, electronics and software and, joining the various areas, we can work in any area of ​​the market that needs technology. We were able to create what is not available on the market», he explains.

Projection Dome developed by Sandworx

The company was created «with automation for industry in mind. Although, in the Algarve, there is little industry, there are also those who need their machines and their control». At this time, Sandworx, headquartered in the nest of companies at the University of Algarve, is developing «a robot for automatic cutting of a plant cultivated by another Algarve company. We are counting on transforming a process that takes an hour, with the work of two people, to one that involves one person and takes a minute».

Mário Saleiro rests, even so, who fears that this evolution of technologies and the replacement of people by machines could lead to layoffs. “Although people are afraid of automation and robots, we don't create machines for companies to fire workers, because there are many tasks for which people are more qualified than robots. Simply, this is a natural evolution: the most routine tasks will be taken over by machines and the human being is free for more complex tasks. We have a brain with many capabilities, which we have to use», considers the co-founder of Sandworx.

Despite the initial idea, Sandworx evolved into other areas such as interactive technologies. «We have been receiving budget requests for quite different areas, but in the first year, we worked essentially in the area of ​​interactive technologies. The clients were Ciência Viva centers. We developed a projection dome with three meters in diameter, to project images and videos onto a spherical surface, creating an immersive environment without virtual reality glasses, for example».

This equipment is at the Centro Ciência Viva do Lousal, in an exhibition called Luminar, to which Sandworx contributed a lot. “This exhibition has eight modules and we made three of these modules. In addition to the dome, we created a machine for pinball, which aims to illustrate the process of synapses, and we developed a simulation environment of an ROV, in which the user can control its descent to the depths of the ocean, to see which species are there».

These three exhibition modules took a year to develop, from idea to completion. However, explains Mário Saleiro, “if we were to replicate it now, the development time would be much shorter, because the complicated part is already done”.

The young entrepreneur gives the example of another project developed «in collaboration with another Algarve company, the spic, for which we created an automatic vinyl recording machine, which was in operation during Rock in Rio».

The University of Algarve also benefits from the presence of these creators, since «we have already developed things for the UAlg laboratories. Sometimes research is limited by lack of equipment and we have university laboratories as clients».

Until now, Sandworx has been working at the request of customers but has also started to develop its own products to ensure its "own course". Mário Saleiro explains that these products are in the area of ​​«automation and Smart citiesAt internet of things, developing wireless sensors. Our long-term goal is also to enter artificial intelligence».

In the area of Smart cities, «we are already developing some solutions and some contacts have already been made with the Municipal Councils of the Algarve. This is a very new area that requires a lot of investment and needs to be very well thought out and planned. We are still at a very early stage, we have prototypes that are not ready for commercialization yet».

Until now, Sandworx has been developing projects for corporate clients, despite not closing the door to the “ordinary citizen”, at a more advanced stage in the company's life. «It would be great to develop for the common citizen, but we have to be aware that we have a small team and the business concept business-to-business is more suited to the size of our team than the service business-to-consumer. It takes a different scale that we don't have yet. You need, for example, a helpline”.

In addition to the two founders, Sandworx has another employee. There are three people for whom the day “doesn't have eight hours. We have been able to work on more than one project at the same time and ended the first year with a profit. In 2018, we had double the turnover and, for the year, the goal is to double again and make the team grow», says Mário Saleiro.

Despite the fact that the team is small and the work is a lot, Sandworx has only refused projects when “there are people who come to us as if we were investors in a certain idea. But instead of investing money, we would be investing our skills and our time and everyone works to earn money».

At the doorstep of Sandworx, there have been no “amazing ideas” that are not feasible by the company, what happens is that “sometimes people have no idea of ​​the complexity, or the development times and it is necessary to make adjustments. We have to adapt the request to what can be done according to the budget», explains João Duarte.

In the Algarve, «no one is doing what we do. There are those who integrate existing equipment in the automation area, but a company that works together in the area of ​​mechanics, electronics and software does not exist».

ROV simulation platform at CCV do Lousal

Due to the fact that Sandworx is a unique company in the region, Mário Saleiro and João Duarte sometimes have difficulty finding raw material to carry out their projects.

But this «is a problem that is being resolved. In the Algarve, if we want a very specific screw, either we order it from the internet, or we have to wait several weeks for another company to send it from a supplier. However, with our experience in the E-lab Hackerspace, we have learned to adapt things in order to be able to do what we want. This project gave us creativity to be able to “match” solutions, with the equipment available on the market. Sometimes, certain equipment has components that can be used and it is even cheaper to buy the entire equipment than just the component. Of course we prefer to buy from the manufacturer but, in any case, we have other resources».

This “difficulty” fosters creativity, which ends up working as a competitive advantage, for example, in relation to companies from other regions of the country. «In automation, the North has more experience, because the factories are in the North. Factories drag service providers and raw material suppliers. But, on the other hand, we have scientific knowledge and new technologies in digital manufacturing, software and electronics and we manage to be innovative, not doing what everyone else does, doing it differently».

Sandworx is one of the companies that is part of Algarve Tech Hub, a project that Mário Saleiro believes “will bring a boost to the region in terms of technology. The Algarve will be able to assert itself as a region not only for tourism, but also for technology. At this point, when an Algarvian goes somewhere and says he works in technology, it seems that there is a surprise, because everyone thinks that here it's just beach and tourism. But it's not like that: we have very good companies developing projects for the whole world».

Faced with the “label” of inventor, Mário Saleiro and João Duarte do not refuse: “if the inventor is the one who takes several things and puts them together to make others, we can say that we are inventors. What we use in equipment, someone has already invented, but we take things, combine them and modify them. The invention process is not one person. The merit belongs to humanity. We can say that our work is like cooking: with the same ingredients, we can make a lot of things», concludes Mário Saleiro.

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