First product goal
Complete wiring
Prepare, route and connect the wires in different cabinet layouts.
Robots that wirecontrol cabinets.
We are building a robot system for end-to-end wiring of electrical control cabinets. The goal is to handle different cabinet layouts without manual setup for each new variant.
Longer-term vision
After the wiring:
the whole cabinet.
Wiring gives us component, connection and cabinet data to build on. From there, we want to automate more of the manufacturing process.
Then expand
The rest of the cabinet
Add mechanical work, component mounting and testing.
Further ambition
Our own factories
Use the technology ourselves to build complete cabinets faster and at a lower cost.
The robots behind the machines of tomorrow.Wire harnesses and other electrical products could be further applications.
The problem
Manual wiring
holds up production.
Skilled workers spend hours preparing and connecting wires. Changing layouts make it harder to automate the whole process.
Control cabinet manufacturing
49%
of manufacturing time went into electrical wiring, including wire preparation.
ISW / EPLAN · 2017
Skilled workers
88% of cabinet builders surveyed identified a shortage of skilled workers as a challenge. 2023 study
Different layouts
Components and their positions change between cabinet designs and variants. Many companies lack full 3D planning data, making each new variant costly to set up for automation.
Rework
Wiring errors create more inspection and repair work.
Studies and sources
ISW / EPLAN: Control Cabinet Manufacturing 4.0 (2017), pp. 9, 27–28: 12 companies; the 49% includes wire preparation. This is an industry study, not a measured result for Splice or its prospective pilot.
Ruhr University Bochum / Phoenix Contact: Control Cabinet Manufacturing in Germany, Part 1, p. 17: interviews with 50 companies in 2023; 88% identified a skilled-worker shortage as a challenge.
Our product goal
From the wiring plan
to a wired cabinet.
The system will use the wiring plan and available digital data to prepare wires, route them through the cabinet, connect both ends and check the connections.
Use the data available
Use the wiring plan and component data and identify missing connection information, without requiring a full digital twin of the cabinet.
Adapt to the cabinet
Recognize components and their connection points, then adapt to their actual positions without manually setting up each new variant.
Handle the whole wire
Use our own grippers and robot control to prepare, feed, route and connect wires in a repeatable process, with checks on the completed connections.
What we are developing
Grippers and wire feeding
Tools to grip, guide and insert wires, and feed them from the wire-preparation machines to the robot.
Vision systems
Component detection, pose estimation and CAD-based recognition of wire entry points.
Robot software
Software to coordinate wire handling and robot movements, with simulation to test and refine the process.
Development and industry
From prototypes
to a production pilot.
Built so far
Software prototypes
We have built prototypes for component detection, pose estimation and CAD-based AI for finding wire entry points. These points are often missing from manufacturer CAD data.
Current work
Building the latest gripper
After several iterations of the mechanical design and wire-handling workflow, we are now manufacturing the latest gripper.
Next milestone
Bring wire preparation, feeding and insertion together for testing in production.
Further interest and development details
NEURA has also expressed interest in using the system to wire control boxes for its own robots once it works. This interest has been discussed verbally.
Neuberger, Aaron’s former employer, and Pfänder, another building automation company in the area, have also expressed early interest.
The Gessmann pilot and the companies’ interest have been discussed verbally. Gessmann sees potential for around five systems if the solution works.
Why Splice
Automate the cabinets
companies actually build.
What we have learned from the work
The setup work
can eat up the savings.
Many companies have a wiring diagram but no full 3D layout, and no capacity to create one just for automation. If an electrician has to fill in missing data, set up every new variant and keep helping the robot, much of the benefit is lost.
Work with existing production
Our goal is to use the available data, identify missing connection information and adapt to the actual cabinet, with as few changes as possible to the customer’s designs and workflow.
Change what you build
The goal is to wire control cabinets one day and different control boxes for robots the next, without manually setting up or reprogramming each new variant.
Competitors and our focus
| Company | Approach |
|---|---|
| Wirebot / WAGO | The WAGO station automates one-sided wiring; routing and the second connection remain manual. Wirebot’s custom lines also include routing. |
| Kablator | Its robotic wiring machine describes modes for routing and terminal insertion. |
| Rittal | Rittal’s 2024 publication presents a concept machine for robotic control cabinet wiring. |
| Shepherd Robotics | Electrical assembly, including wire routing and insertion, as part of a broader robotics product. |
Working without a full digital twin is not unique to Splice: WAGO also describes operation without 3D CAE data. Our focus is the skilled work needed to prepare each variant and keep the whole wiring process running, from wire feeding to both connections.
We develop the wire feed, gripper and vision software together. Long wires, tightly packed components and connections facing different directions shape the design. Setup time, process coverage and reliability will determine the advantage in production.
Market
We start with
control cabinet builders.
Initial target customers
Control cabinet builders and manufacturers with their own cabinet production.
Our focus is on production with substantial manual wiring and changing layouts.
The industry we serve
Control and electrical panels
250 US$ bn
Estimated annual market potential.
Siemens case study
Electrical distribution and control
96.6 € bn
Revenue of EU manufacturers of electrical distribution and control equipment, including components.
Eurostat · 2024
Wire-harness industry
>200 US$ bn
Worldwide annual industry value. A possible later application.
MTC · Published in 2024
Why now
Progress in perception and simulation is opening up more wire-handling tasks to robots, while cabinet builders face a shortage of skilled workers.
Sources and market scope
US$250 bn: a Siemens / Polygon case study reports estimated annual market potential for control and electrical panels. It does not state a detailed method, geographic scope or reference year.
€96.6 bn: Eurostat, EU-27, 2024, NACE C27.12, net turnover of manufacturers of electricity distribution and control apparatus. This includes components and is not a count of suitable robot customers.
More than US$200 bn: the Manufacturing Technology Centre, 2024 publication, reports an annual worldwide value for the wire-harness industry without a detailed calculation. Other estimates use different scopes and dates.
These are different, partly overlapping industry measures. They are not added together and do not measure the market for wiring robots. Splice’s initial opportunity depends on suitable production sites, economically viable robot installations and annual purchases. That bottom-up system market has not yet been established. Detailed methodology and additional sources in German.
Business model
Sell complete systems.
Add software and service.
We plan to start at around €150,000 per complete system, depending on what the customer needs, with recurring fees for software, service and maintenance.
Start here
Systems for existing factories
Sell and integrate wiring systems into the customer’s production.
Software and service
Ongoing software licenses, updates, maintenance and technical support.
Longer term
Robotics as a service
Charge per completed connection or per completed cabinet at the customer’s factory.
Further ambition
Our own automated factories
Use the technology ourselves to build cabinets faster, at a lower cost and with fewer defects.
Revenue examples and assumptions
System sales: selling 1,000 systems at €150,000 would mean €150 million in hardware revenue over time, plus software and service.
Alternative RaaS example: at €0.50 per successfully connected wire end and 200,000 connections per system per year, 1,000 systems would generate €100 million in annual revenue. A complete wire has two connected ends.
This is an illustrative scenario, not a forecast or a measured production result. The price and throughput still need to be tested with customers.
Founder
Built from practical
electrical experience.
Aaron Keitel
Founder and technical lead
German master electrician (Meister), qualified at 22.
Trained electronics technician for automation technology.
My background
I know wiring from doing it.
Since 2019, I have worked on industrial control cabinets, building installations, distribution boards and wire harnesses. At Neuberger, I was obsessed with making wiring faster and more efficient. In planning, I saw what delays and the skilled-worker shortage cost companies.
Sources
Industry studies and company sources are linked in their sections. Market research was compiled on 31 October 2026. This product and development update is dated 3 November 2026. Development, collaboration and founder details are based on information from KAG. Product goals and later expansion are distinguished from current demonstrations.
The robot hardware is supplied by NEURA Robotics. Splice develops the application software and tools. Third-party research and product descriptions are not evidence of Splice’s performance. Full German source overview.