A Teesside tech firm is gearing up for huge growth as it prepares to lead the rise of the robots with the launch of an artificial intelligence system. Stokesley-based Applied Scientific Technologies is predicting a 10-fold increase in turnover to £4m within two years on the back of the AI system its directors say is at the "the cutting edge of cutting edge". The firm is currently preparing field trials that will see its robotic automated systems go into full production within months. Directors Jamie Marsay, Garry Lofthouse and Lee Raywood are targeting sales of 50 a year of the innovation, which is patent-pending, by 2020. Applied Scientific Technologies (AST) – winner of the Innovation Award at the North East Business Awards 2018 – only launched in May 2017 and already has a raft of blue chip firms as clients, with many more banging at the door for a robotic scientist its creators call The Hyve.