Artaic

Artaic, established in 2007, operates at the intersection of art and automation to modernize the ancient craft of mosaic tile production. The company was co-founded by Ted Acworth and Paul Reiss. The inspiration came to Acworth, a mechanical engineer with a PhD from Stanford and an MBA from MIT, during his travels in Europe, where he was captivated by historic mosaics and envisioned a way to make the medium more accessible. His background in robotics, optics, and digital image processing, including work with NASA, provided the technical foundation to re-imagine the labor-intensive fabrication process. Paul Reiss, who served as the creative director, brought a design-centered approach, having graduated from Boston College with a degree in Math and Mixed Media Art.

The firm's core business revolves around the design and fabrication of custom, large-scale mosaic installations for architectural applications. Artaic serves a diverse clientele, initially focusing on commercial sectors like hospitality, healthcare, corporate, and public art, with clients including Walt Disney World, Hilton Hotels, and Harvard University. It has since expanded its marketing efforts to include the residential market. The business model is centered on providing a full-service experience, from collaborative design to production and delivery. Revenue is generated through the sale of these custom mosaic projects, which are priced per square foot.

Artaic's key differentiator is its proprietary system that integrates computer-aided design (CAD) software with robotic manufacturing. Clients or Artaic's in-house designers can translate any image into a mosaic design using the company's software, which then directs robotic arms to pick and place individual tiles into one-foot-square grids. This automated assembly, more than ten times faster than manual methods, significantly reduces labor costs and production lead times, enabling domestic manufacturing in its Boston facility. This process allows for rapid design iterations, free sampling, and the ability to produce murals of immense scale that were previously unfeasible. The company offers a range of tile materials, including vitreous glass, sintered glass, natural stone, and porcelain, to create the final, seamless image.

Keywords: robotic mosaics, custom tile, architectural design, automated manufacturing, computer-aided design, hospitality design, public art, commercial interiors, residential surfaces, design technology