Braveheart Investments Regulatory News (BRH)

3 May 2007 07:01

Braveheart Investment Group plc03 May 2007 3 May 2007 Braveheart Investment Group plc ("Braveheart" or the "Group") Alpha EIS Fund invests in Edinburgh Robotics Limited Braveheart (AIM: BRH), the technology commercialisation and investmentmanagement company, announces that it has made its fourth investment from itsAlpha EIS Fund. The Group and its investors have invested approximately £250,000in Edinburgh Robotics Limited ("ERL"), a spin-out from the University ofEdinburgh's School of Informatics. The investment is Braveheart's second into ERL and has been made to enable it tofurther develop its software development platform, DevBot, which provides mobilerobot developers with a comprehensive base for developing sophisticated mobilerobotic applications quickly and cost effectively. In 2005, ERL also received a £50,000 SMART Award to develop a softwaredevelopment platform for mobile robotic devices and this was matched with fundsfrom Braveheart's SMART Equity Scheme in February 2006. ERL is finalising an evaluation version of the DevBot platform for marketingpurposes and an initial marketing exercise has established interest in theautomotive, agricultural and entertainment industries. Mobile robots are small autonomous or remote control vehicles that consumelittle power and have no cables. A mobile robot comprises a motor and sensorsand is controlled by a small on-board computer. Current commercial applicationsinclude automated vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers and exploration vehicles, withmany more in the pipeline. DevBot is currently the only known software platformfor mobile robots which provides everything needed to enable customers todevelop innovative software for mobile robotics hardware themselves. Commenting, Chief Executive of Braveheart, Geoffrey Thomson, said, "The mobilerobotics sector is an emerging market and ERL is concentrating on bringing aproduct to this market which concentrates on established industrial markets.This investment will ensure that the company is well placed to meet growingdemand for robotic development platforms and enable it to target key sectors,with a view to the DevBot platform becoming the de facto standard." Nils Roeder, Chief Technical Officer at Edinburgh Robotics, added, "Mobilerobotics is a highly specialised and exciting field, in which we are makingprogress in not only R & D, but also commercial product development. ERL israpidly and cost effectively developing its state of the art platformtechnology, which has already come to the attention of international businessesutilising robotics technology. This injection of funding from Braveheart and theinvestment consortium backing the Alpha EIS fund will help to progress thecommercialisation of DevBot." The Alpha EIS Fund ("the Fund") Established in December 2005, the £2.5 million Fund was set up as a taxefficient vehicle to invest in early-stage, university spin out companies, richin intellectual property, with potential for significant growth, through thecommercialisation of their IP. The Fund is managed by Braveheart andparticipants include Bank of Scotland Corporate, Scottish Enterprise, andBraveheart's own clients. The Fund will deliver a minimum of ten EIS qualifyinginvestments, sourced through the Group's unique framework of strong formalrelationships with Scottish universities and business parks. The Fund's made its initial investment of £250,000 into Design LED Products inJune 2006. -Ends- For further information, please contact: Braveheart Investment Group Tel: 01738 587555Geoffrey Thomson, Chief Executive Tavistock Communications Tel: 020 7920 3150Richard Sunderland/Rachel Drysdale/Simon Hudson rdrysdale@tavistock.co.uk Edinburgh Robotics Tel: 0131 472 4720Nils Roeder/Joe Halliwell www.edinburghrobotics.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange