Robotical, the edtech startup behind Marty the Robot, has raised £43,291 in a Kickstarter campaign as it prepares to ramp up production of its Marty the Robot product.

The Edinburgh-based firm had originally set a target of £30,000 for the campaign. However, more than 200 backers pledged financial support to help take the company far over its initial goal.

Backers will, in return, receive a variety of Marty v2 product bundles, ranging from a single robot up to the whole school/council pack, which contains 50 units.

In addition to the Kickstarter funding, last week Robotical won a Global Innovators Grant from Expo 2020 Dubai.

Yousuf Caires, senior VP of Expo Live, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “We’re delighted to support Expo Live Global Innovator Robotical, which is making learning about robotics and STEM subjects fun – helping to future proof the next generation with the education and skills required to succeed in the modern economy.”

Marty the Robot was designed to encourage children to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and helps teachers in primary and secondary schools make lessons in these subjects more engaging and fun.

Robotical has seen great success with its original version of Marty, with thousands of units being used in schools across more than 50 countries. The latest version will include new features, including smart sensors which allow Marty to copy a users movements, motors that allow for grabbing hands and a new disco setting.

The dual funding boost will enable Robotical to finalise the v2 version and scale up operations, with the firm setting itself a target of 6,000 new students reached in the next year.

Sandy Enoch, founder and CEO of Robotical, commented: “I want to thank all of our Kickstarter backers and Expo 2020 Dubai for awarding us the grant. This money will really allow us to accelerate production of Marty v2, scale up our operations and start some great new initiatives, including a robotics competition.

“Having witnessed the joy that Marty has spread in schools, I’m looking forward to seeing how pupils and teachers respond to the new features we have been working on for v2.”

Robotical also revealed it is developing a new learning platform to help make Marty the Robot as user-friendly as possible. This is expected to be available before the end of 2020, the firm said.