A Penryn robot manufacturer has bought new equipment to update its production process and increase efficiency with the support of a £200,000 hire purchase facility from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

Engineered Arts, established in 2004, manufactures a range of humanoid robots that are used for entertainment and social interaction research. The droids can be designed to tell stories and interact with guests, making them ideal for visitor attractions. The company has supplied robots to the NASA Space Centre in Florida, the National Science Museums of Australia, Spain and Thailand, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The business secured the financial package from Lloyds Bank’s commercial finance team to purchase a new CNC (Computer Numeric Control) machine that will help produce more of its niche products.

Engineered Arts has an annual turnover of £1million and employs a team of 14 people, which includes designers, electronic and mechanical engineers and software developers.

Gill Spencer, finance manager of Engineered Arts, said: “Experts predict that by 2025, robots and artificial intelligence will be integrated into nearly every aspect of our daily lives. While a number of our robots are used by universities researching the science of human and robot relationships, more than 80 per cent of our robots are already in the public sphere interacting and communicating with people at science museums around the world.

“We’ve seen an increased interest in our products both for research and visitor interaction purposes. The support from Lloyds Bank has allowed us to meet this new demand by improving and modernising our production capacity, which is vital as we look to expand both domestically and overseas.”

Tim Williams, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “As businesses become more aware of the positive impact robots can have on their operations, it leaves Engineered Arts well placed to capitalise on these new opportunities.

“We’re committed to supporting small to medium sized businesses like Engineered Arts. To underline this, we have grown our net lending to SMEs by 29 per cent, while the market has contracted by 12 per cent.”