In the global resources sector, corporate innovation strategies are seeking change but are often failing to deliver. Operators are exposed to changes in laws creating greater responsibility for safety, and services companies risk competitors being first to market with leading tech capability.

Universal Field Robots is the robotic automation solution that is delivering accelerated time to market, decreased risk of failure, and decreased overall cost to energy and resources customers. UFR specialises in robust automation, proven robotics technology platforms, and collaborating for customer success.

The team is comprised of mechanical, mechatronics, robotics engineers and software developers, who are driven to improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of outdoor work using autonomous field robots. Our dedicated team has developed software to fully enable autonomous control of all our machines’ functions. We utilise advances in robotic physics simulations to digitally prototype the ideal solution before proceeding to real-world testing.

Founded in 2015 by Jeff Sterling, a mechanical engineer with over 35 years mining industry experience with the vision to bring to market fully autonomous robots with industrial-scale capabilities; Universal Field Robots’ is now a highly skilled team of over 20 that design, build, and prototype large-scale robotics solutions in the energy and resources sectors. 

Growing from a single idea, Universal Field Robots has now become a global player, specialising in building customised robotics packages to solve real-world problems. From surface mining blasthole sensing and optimisation and underground mining blasthole cleaning and surveying, to haul truck refuelling, logistics support, and underground remote control and autonomous operations support, Universal Field Robots’ industry applications for mining and energy are as vast as the activities performed on site. 

The UFR team has also built a custom solution to autonomously set out, handle, and install steel piling for solar farm construction, eliminating setting out, transport and manual handling, and separating people from hazardous noise. This makes solar power more affordable, while reducing construction hazards, and addressing labour shortages.

Universal Field Robots is an exceptionally agile team of engineers and developers that can accelerate your automation projects with mine proven technology. They do this by conceptualizing, prototyping, and creating products ready for market very rapidly - often inside of six months. 

The numerous applications for their technology coupled with their speed to market have seen Universal Field Robots successfully scale their business and land contracts in Australia, South Africa and more recently a copper mine in Chile.