Artaic wins $500,000 National science foundation Research Grant

Artaic funded by NSF to develop Advanced Software & Robotic Manufacturing to create artistic mosaics.

Boston, Massachusetts – Artaic LLC has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Artaic was granted $500,000 to develop design software and a robotic assembly system that will automate the tedious centuries-old manual process of creating architectural mosaic artworks.

Artaic’s Phase II research project will have broad commercial potential in art, design, construction, and architecture. The newly developed technologies enhance capabilities for designing and fabricating the art form, accelerate production and lower costs, ultimately increasing societal impact through broader distribution of the unique art form.

“Artaic’s previous research proved the feasibility of a streamlined computer aided design software that mimics the workflow of mosaic artists, and does so over 10x faster than manual methods,” said Artaic Founder and CEO, Ted Acworth. “The efficiencies made possible by the software and advanced manufacturing systems are enabling Artaic to expand into the multi-billion dollar global tile market and develop a domestic workforce to compete against offshore labor.”

While the two-year research grant focuses on innovation, there is also an emphasis on commercialization. Director of Operations, Blake Goodwin explains, “The grant will not only help us bring a unique product to market, it will allow us to create more engineering and advanced manufacturing jobs in the USA.”

Since founded in 2007, Artaic has grown in Boston’s newly established Innovation District with help from both national and local small business initiatives. “The City of Boston has been working hard to bolster innovation and foster small business growth,” said Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, “It’s great to see Artaic embodying the sprit of the innovation district by creating jobs and pushing the community and the world forward through research and invention.” Artaic has already made several hires to develop and implement the new technologies outlined in the grant.

The Phase II funding is for research and development of advanced design and manufacturing tools. The ultimate goal is to get those tools into the hands of artists, architects, and designers. “Mosaic art has been around for over 3000 years, yet it has become relatively obsolete in contemporary architecture due to the modern constraints of cost and lead-time,” notes Paul Reiss, Artaic Cofounder and Creative Director. “We are removing those constraints with technology. We now need people to recognize that mosaic is an affordable and accessible option for unique architectural impact.”

Artaic aims to become the company known for solving the technical and creative problems involved in developing highly artistic tile installations that blur the lines between technology, art, and architecture.

About Artaic

Artaic designs and fabricates custom, award-winning tile-work. Combining modern technologies with an established art form, Artaic modernizes the creation of architecturally compelling mosaics. Through fast design iterations, free sampling and robotic production in the USA, the process of customization is made as simple and painless as purchasing stock products.

Artaic’s Tessera™ software enables their skilled design team to easily collaborate with the robotic manufacturing systems, easing the creation of modern mosaics by increasing design flexibility and decreasing lead times and costs. Artaic’s Mass-Customization technologies enable the production of large-scale, American-made works right from their studio in Boston’s Innovation District.

For more information, visit www.artaic.com