.Lumen secures €11M EU grant to bring AI navigation from assistive glasses to urban delivery robots

The Romanian deeptech startup .Lumen has secured an €11 million grant from the European Union for the PABLO project (Autonomous Robots for Urban Delivery). The grant is funded under the Intelligent Growth, Digitalisation and Financial Instruments Programme 2021–2027. The grant will support the expansion of the company's Pedestrian Autonomous Driving technology beyond assistive devices into urban logistics robotics.

Founded in 2020 by Cornel Amariei, Dr Gabriel Chindriș and Mihai Ivașcu, .Lumen was established to empower visually impaired individuals with AI-powered navigation glasses. At the heart of their work is PAD AI, a proprietary autonomous navigation system using five cameras, real-time obstacle detection and haptic feedback to safely guide users through complex environments, eliminating the need for cloud connectivity or residual sight. This technology has been tested by hundreds of visually impaired users worldwide, and the company previously raised €5 million in January 2025.

Now, Lumen is applying the same AI navigation system to humanoid and quadrupedal robots designed to walk autonomously on pavements and deliver food and groceries in urban environments. The PABLO project, which runs from September 2025 to September 2028, brings together a consortium including the Institute of Solid Mechanics of the Romanian Academy (IMSAR), BreadCrumbs Interactive for fleet management and Linnify for delivery app development.

This grant positions Romania among the European countries advancing humanoid and quadrupedal robotics for urban logistics. It complements private VC-backed robotics funding across Europe. For now, the project aims primarily to reduce delivery costs and minimise environmental impact, as well as creating three new R&D positions. Expected outcomes include patents and copyright protection for AI-based pedestrian navigation software.

Sources: EU-Startups (David Cendon Garcia), .Lumen, Vestbee, Crunchbase

Founders: Cornel Amariei, Gabriel Chindriș, Mihai Ivaşcu