We are an Odense-based, robotics company that designs and builds agile, fast and smooth collaborative robots (Cobots) in order to assist the retail industry to optimize their Click & Collect and Restocking processes. We truly believe that humans and robots can coexist in the workforce thus we offer a unique and innovative robotics solution to automate your internal transportation and logistics. We are a truly international company where people are the most important factors. We aim to work with our employees, customers, suppliers and business partners in order to grow together and to create value.
To be the leading supplier of human-friendly retail robots.
Nothing can be presumed; everything needs to be validated.
Only by working together, can we succeed.
Ideas and concerns, both positive and negative can be shared.
The English word ‘coalesce’ originally comes from the Latin verb ‘coalescere’ meaining, “to unite, to grow together or to become one in growth”. In this sense, we are a special union where culturally diverse people are united to design and build agile, fast and smooth Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) to address specific retail challenges primarily experienced by small and medium-sized enterprises.
‘Coalescent’ represents the diversity of our company with employees from all over the world including Ireland, Brazil, and South Korea. But it also refers to our non-human teammate “Serena”, the collaborative robot that is designed to work alongside humans to create a more productive and effective working environment for us all.
And what could be a better reinforcement of this brand identity than our ‘tetris-like’ logo? As tetris blocks need to rotate or adapt to find ways to fit together in order to make a line or lateral unity, our employees also need to learn how to cocreate and work together. Even though every tetris block is different, just like our employees, our business partners and our robots, they are all working together toward the same goal: to unite and to grow together.
Clionadh Martin
I started off studying Mechanical Engineering. After I graduated, I worked as validations engineer for 1.5 years and through this work I did a course in PLC programming, which opened my world to programming. I’m a traveler at heart, so after this work I went solo travelling for 2 years, always with the intention of coming back and continuing my studies in robotics. In 2012 I graduated from a European master’s in advanced Robotics – EMARO. Since then, I have been working in the mobile robotics industry. In 2016 I moved to Odense to work for a company, again focused on mobile robots, and 2018 is when I started my own company Coalescent Mobile Robotics ApS.
At work I pretty much do everything. Since I started, I’ve had 3 months learning cycles, from developing software, integrating hardware components to learning all about business development, how to get funding to keep the company going and getting a team together that works as a team and on the same goal. It a roller coaster journey – constantly solving new problems.
My motivation changes all the time, because the requirement behind building a company continually changes depending on what stage you are at. I love meeting new people and finding solutions to new problems. But one of the biggest motivators is having gotten this far in developing this technology and working with great partners and people, to keep this journey going. The retail world is also much more exciting than I could have ever imagined.
I’ve been working with mobile robots for over 9 years, so starting a company was always going to be based on mobile robots. Focusing on retail came about because a friend of mine used to spend long unsocial hours restocking shelves in supermarkets. She had to push and pull heavy trolleys long distances, all night and she’s not a very big woman. Automating the transportation of goods within retail would not only help people in her situation, but also save on costs for retailers. This market for robots was also new, and so it was exciting to have the possibility of being first movers in it.
The main vision / mission for the company is to build a company where people enjoy coming to work, to develop state of the art technology which will bring a lot of value to a lot of people. We want to work closely with our customers, so that we can build something that is useful for them, and that they look forward to integrating into their processes and systems.
I like bringing people together to work on a common goal. Robotics is also very exciting, so why not combine the two of them?
I love my team. I love the people I interact with every day. I love the unknown, and the willingness of other people to share their knowledge. The technology we are developing is also groundbreaking and super exciting.
Collaboration. Inspiring. Fast-moving.
Our robots will be in many different stores, and we will have changed the retail world and people’s perspective on the benefits of robots. Consumers will have more time to enjoy shopping and retail workers more time to help consumers. This will be because our cobots will provide a lot of help in reducing stress and increasing working standards. Everyone will be happier.
I don’t think I am the right person to answer that, my hobby is working, so I work all the time. I enjoy what I do, and so wouldn’t change it. While working is my hobby, I fully embrace work-life balance, and my colleagues at work are free to decide how best to make this balance, themselves.
Values. People should be respectful of each other’s differences in many ways. People learn differently, communicate differently, have gone through many different things in their life, and so we all need to be mindful of these things. Be honest and direct, so you eliminate miscommunication as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to be wrong, but also to explain yourself based on your perspective. Try and find a middle ground, and if that can’t be done, don’t take things personally. Spend the time to understand how people think, rather than forcing your way on others.
I think the ability to listen is very important. Your opinion matters, but make sure you give the space to others to also give their point of view.
Keep moving and find solutions fast. The world moves quickly and so it requires us to move quickly too.
People work for quite a big chunk of their life, so you should aim at doing something that you enjoy, and this is the environment we hope to foster. I think the same goes for integrating new technology into your company, it needs to be enjoyable and useful, and this is one through honest and transparent partnerships.
João Monteiro
I am from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I studied Control and Automation Engineering, graduating in 2015, and obtained a D.Sc. Degree in Electrical Engineering, with a focus in robotics, in 2020. From 2014 to 2019, I worked with research-oriented robotics in one of the most prestigious Brazilian research institutes. In that time, I had the opportunity to develop several unique autonomous robots, ranging from underwater, both indoor and outdoor ground robots, all the way to aerial vehicles. In January 2019, I co-founded a robotics company in Brazil to bridge the gap between the academy and the industry, focusing on outdoor service robots. Even though I am still a part of that company, I decided to move to Denmark to pursue different professional opportunities.
My journey from Rio to Odense was quite natural. In Denmark, there is a culture that promotes technology development. Odense, in particular, is a frontrunner in Europe when it comes to robotics, hosting the largest cluster of robotics companies.
Robotics is a field where you face complex problems, must come up with innovative solutions, and see they materialize in front of you. It is not only about software and hardware but combining the digital with the real world. By following a conscious and responsible design process, one can create intelligent devices (call them robots) that improve people’s lives.
The people, the technology, and the growth prospect. Coalescent’s team is a diverse one composed of young and experienced people. I look forward to having the opportunity to guide them in their early professional careers with the assistance of experienced colleagues and together learn from everybody’s journeys. As a CTO, I feel excited about implementing a structured approach to manage our technology development and support the company in its path to scale up.
I have a strong background in bringing new robots to the market and establishing competitive technical product roadmaps. I will focus on nailing these two aspects of technological development. Consequently, my goal is to ensure that Coalescent will be a first mover and a leader in the promising market of retail robotics. From a non-technological side, I put people first when it comes to work – something that I always consider when sharing responsibilities and establishing new processes.
Coalescent is different from most robotics companies in two critical points. First, the company follows a user-centered approach to product design. Second, all solutions are based on modern technologies to ensure long-lasting competitiveness in a continuously evolving market. Put together these two points, and I firmly believe that Coalescent will succeed in improving the work conditions of people working with restocking while reducing costs for retailers.
The company is on the right path in becoming a reference for retail robotics. This market has many technological challenges, and the company can also grow to deliver solutions to those challenges. Looking inside the company rather than outside, our CEO, Clionadh Martin, promotes a culture of respect in many ways. As the company grows, this is the culture that we will need to keep people in the company and provide new opportunities for them. My future then looks as bright and promising as that of the team.
As I said before, I put people first when it comes to work. Communication is the key to collaboration, so never hesitate to voice your concerns. From my side, expect to know what is needed and why that is so. Together we will always be able to figure out how to deliver.
We are currently hiring! Find out about our job openings.
