You will surely be fascinated by the technology born from “The Most Adorable Village.”

The latest thing gaining support from athletes is the world's first robotic tennis ball collector.

Auburn-based Tennisbot will partner with Viam, a software platform for smart machines, to build, prototype and scale a fleet of pioneering autonomous tennis assistants, which it plans to expand to tennis clubs and enthusiasts across the country, according to a news release.

The partnership reflects growing broader business interest in automation and demonstrates how the next generation of innovative companies are bringing together data and AI to revolutionize real-world consumer experiences.

The “Tenibot” robot, unveiled by Tenibot last month at RacquetX, the first-ever racket sports conference held in conjunction with the Miami Open, can autonomously patrol tennis courts to detect and retrieve balls, saving players and coaches up to 30% of the time they would spend retrieving balls.

According to a statement, the machine utilises Viam's proprietary data technology, with every machine updated with the latest software, enabling it to identify tennis balls, intelligently avoid obstacles and collect data to improve and optimise the machine's performance.

As more and more Tennibot machines enter production, the company is using the Viam platform to seamlessly and securely capture and sync aggregate data from machines in the field. This data helps the Tennibot team monitor machine performance, conduct remote diagnostics, and ensure a great customer experience.

CEO and co-founder Haissam Eletravi came up with the idea for TennisBot during a frustrating practice session, leading to the birth of the cutting edge machine. Lincoln OneEletrabi went through an iterative process of design, prototyping, testing and optimization but encountered technical obstacles inherent in traditional vehicle and machine data management, which prompted the collaboration with Viam.

Viam's open source platform provides a ready-to-use cloud pipeline designed to easily connect machines for easy monitoring and management. Its open architecture allows any machine, regardless of manufacturer or origin, to interoperate and share data with the cloud and other machines, removing the technical barriers that have historically limited the adoption of automation solutions in consumer and industrial environments.

“Before we partnered with Viam, we could only manage multiple machines and their data through complex integrations of software and authentication platforms that weren't designed to work with our machines,” says Eletrabi. “But Viam's built-in data management pipeline fits our machines right away, eliminating the need for patchwork and allowing us to just focus on building and selling robots.”

Viam's fleet management capabilities have not only increased Tennibot's operational efficiency but also helped the company scale quickly and improve time to market.

“Viam's cloud-based software allows us to easily see the current status of our machines at any time and deploy and update code as needed,” says Wang. “This enables us to confidently scale our fleet to hundreds of robots and accelerate machine manufacturing and delivery, getting to market faster.”

The integration of Tennibot and Viam demonstrates the software platform's mission to unlock the full potential of automation across sectors, from consumer recreation and home automation to complete industrial solutions spanning manufacturing, infrastructure and climate.

“We are excited to provide Tenibot with essential capabilities for machine monitoring, troubleshooting and code deployment,” said Viam founder and CEO. Elliot Horowitz“Tennibot is a great example of how Viam is enabling both startups and large enterprises to innovate and scale through smart machines, delivering improved customer experiences.”