Acworth’s Tech-Centric Approach to the Mosaic Artform Continues to Improve and Facilitate Manufacturing and Accessibility through his Boston-based Mosaic Manufacturer Brand, Artaic
Boston, MA — September 28, 2022 — Ted Acworth, founder and CEO of Artaic, a leading mosaic manufacturer that uses robotic technology and innovative design tools to customize, design, and fabricate award-winning installations, was awarded a $250,000 grant as part of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Accelerate Program, or MMAP, at the Mash-Up 2022 Ceremony. The MMAP award aims to co-invest in small-to-medium-sized manufacturers to better prepare their businesses to meet the demands of ‘Industry 4.0,’ the innovation-driven production methods powered by smart technologies such as data analytics, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, automation, and connected technologies to stay competitive.
“I am honored to receive the MMAP Grant and excited for all we will achieve at Artaic. We are on a mission to make the mosaic medium more accessible, and the grant will help in leading the way. Not just through faster, better, and cheaper product manufacturing, but also in funding more technology that speeds up and further customizes our design renderings and physical sample production,” says Acworth. “This enables even faster and more customized proposal materials to our A&D specifiers, which helps provide better service to their customers, enhanced production and offerings.”
Acworth plans to continue to progress the technology in mosaic manufacturing, using his expertise as a trained mechanical engineer to continue the push to make the medium more accessible. Cost, lead time, and customization are at the forefront of the changes the new technology will bring. According to Acworth, the new system will be used in tandem with Artaic’s unique patented technology of 15 years (developed by Acworth) and will offer a 5x throughput improvement over the brand’s 5th generation production work cell that was developed in-house, increasing assembly work cell production by a rate of 500%.
In his remarks during the ceremony State Representative Jeffrey N. Roy (D-Franklin,) House Chair of the Legislature’s Manufacturing Caucus, stated: “Manufacturing output here is at its highest level in history and accounts for about 11 percent of the state’s economy. It is the sixth largest employment sector here and $26 billion in manufactured goods are exported from the Commonwealth each year. We celebrated some truly great companies who make our economy roar and contribute to those statistics. These manufacturers are examples of what it means to ‘Make it in Massachusetts.’”
Acworth received a Ph.D. at Stanford as a trained mechanical engineer and later headed to MIT for his MBA as a Sloan Fellow in Innovation and Global Leadership. His appreciation for art and specifically, mosaics, led him to found Artaic in 2007 where he could approach the ancient art form through tech. Acworth designed a proprietary software, Tylist™, that accurately designs and digitally manipulates mosaic imagery, allowing users to design and render their mosaic artwork and choose from an array of options including tile type, color, size, and grout type. This technology also allows for exact replicas of images, such as family portraits and works of art. The software coordinates with the brand’s robotic manufacturing system to produce mosaic creations with more precision and faster than ever. Acworth’s unique manufacturing process sits heavily on a tech-centric approach to solving the design industry’s woes: increasing design flexibility while decreasing lead times and costs. Today, Artaic has modernized the creation of mosaics and creates designs for residences, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, public art, and corporate brands such as Chase Bank, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Ritz Carlton, Legal Seafoods, and more.
To learn more about Artaic, please visit www.artaic.com.
ABOUT ARTAIC:
Artaic uses robotic technology and innovative design tools to customize, design and fabricate award-winning mosaics for private and multi-family residences, public art installations, commercial properties, and corporate standard programs, as well as hospitality, healthcare and education environments. Artaic’s proprietary Tylist™ software enables its in-house design team to customize mosaics from any source of inspiration – whether it be a drawing, photograph, logo, or idea. Artaic also offers a catalog of preconceived design collections, such as Lasting Rugs, GLYPH, Verge, and Quad, that can be customized to fit projects of any scale and made unique by an expansive material and color palette. Artaic also develops smart tile programs for their customers’ field tile needs, leveraging their unparalleled product selection of vitreous glass, sintered glass, and glazed porcelain. The Boston-based company’s tailored approach and unique manufacturing process increases design flexibility while decreasing lead time and cost, making it a go-to resource for architects, interior designers, and artists across the globe.
