Episodes
Andrew Smith, CEO and co-founder of Outrider, takes us inside the company's efforts to commercialize yard automation. Outrider turns electric yard trucks into autonomous vehicles that couple tractor to trailer using its patented robotic arm and precisely maneuver between dock doors and parking spots. We also recap the tops stories of the week, including new GPT-based cobot arms, declining robot sales in North America and...
Published 09/01/23
The humanoid robot market is quickly maturing. Our guest this week is Apptronik CEO and cofounder Jeff Cardenas. He tells the in-depth story about the development of legged robotics and humanoids at Apptronik and the launch of the company's first commercial humanoid robot, Apollo. With the launch of Apollo, Apptronik became one of the early innovators in the race to create a general-purpose humanoid robot. It turns out that the company has a rich history in legged robotics, having worked on...
Published 08/23/23
In this episode, cohost Mike Oitzman sits down with ANYbotics Chief Commercial Officer Enzo Wälchli to learn all about the swiss designed quadruped robot. The ANYmal is designed to be explosion-proof and operate in extreme environments including inspection tasks for oil and gas processing facilities, offshore oil rigs, processing plants, manufacturing facilities and anywhere else that require a nimble mobile platform to operate. ANYbotics is expanding into North America, and Wälchli...
Published 08/16/23
This week, cohost Mike Oitzman catches up with a longtime friend and fellow podcaster Kevin Lawton, host of The New Warehouse Podcast. We talk about the state of automation in the warehouse and how the market is evolving. Be sure to check out The New Warehouse Podcast for everything related to warehouse operations and technology.
Published 08/10/23
On the show this week we review the robotics industry news, including a story about the Ocado acquisition of 6 River Systems and the fire sale price that Ocado paid for the assets of 6 River Systems from Shopify earlier this year. The featured interview is a conversation with Aerobotix VP of Sales, Chris Kolb. Aerobotix builds and integrates robotic inspection, sanding, and painting systems for US military aircraft maintenance. The systems installed by Aerobotix even painted the US Air Force...
Published 08/03/23
This week we feature the Robotics Summit 2023 keynote fireside chat between Steve Crowe and Marc Raibert. Marc founded Boston Dynamics and led the company as CEO for 30 years until he left last year to found the AI Institute. Steve and Marc talk about the amazing innovation at Boston Dynamics and why Marc decided to switch gears and move to the AI institute. It's a memorable conversation that we wanted to feature on the podcast both for listeners who were unable to attend and as a recap for...
Published 07/25/23
On the show this week, we talk to Marc Segura, President of the ABB Robotics Division. Marc is an industry veteran with 25+ years at ABB. On the show, he gives us his perspective on the current state of the robotics market, the roadmap for ABB products and the future of mobile robots. Marc introduces us to the new lineup of ABB industrial robots with changeable link sizes, enabling 22 variants of four base models.
Published 07/07/23
In this episode, we recap the recent LogiMat tradeshow in Europe with Waku Robotics founder and CEO Victor SplittGerber. Victor also brings us up to speed on the European AMR market and the evolution of the Lotsofbots online mobile robot database that Waku Robotics developed and maintains.
Published 06/23/23
In this episode, we talk to Relay Robotics CEO Michael O'Donnell and CTO Steve Cousins about the features of the newly launched Relay2 delivery robot. O'Donnell discusses how the hotel foodservice market has changed during the pandemic and why third-party food delivery apps like Doordash have upended the room service market for hotels. The result is a renewed opportunity for a larger payload Relay robot to become an important addition to a hotel's service offerings for travelers. Cousins...
Published 06/09/23
This week we have the pleasure of interviewing Roberta Nelson Shea who was the 2023 Joseph F Engelberger Robotics Application Award winner. Roberta tells us some great stories from her career leading the development of worldwide robotics safety standards.
Published 06/02/23
In this episode, we talk to Figure CEO and cofounder Brett Adcock about his vision for building general-purpose humanoid robots. The company recently closed its series A for $70M and is a year into the design and development of its first humanoid robot. This episode is sponsored by Cloud Ground Control.
Published 05/24/23
In this episode, we go into detail about cloud-based control of remote fleets of outdoor robotics with an interview with Xavier Orr, CEO, of Advanced Navigation along with one of its customers: Michael Arens, co-founder and CEO of Clean Earth Rovers. Advanced Navigation has a portfolio of guidance sensors, a plug-and-play cellular modem, and the new Cloud Ground Control software.
Published 05/19/23
This week, we recap the 2023 Robotics Summit event that took place last week in Boston. On the show, Mike Oitzman interviews Fox Robotics' new CEO Marin Tchakarov during a recent visit to Austin TX, and Mike also interviews Canvas Robotics' CEO and co-founder Kevin Albert about the innovation of using robots to help to finish dry wall at construction sites. This episode is sponsored by Cloud Ground Control, learn more at: https://www.cloudgroundcontrol.com/
Published 05/16/23
Our guest this week is Christine Boles, Vice President in the Network & Edge Group (NEX) and General Manager of Intel’s Federal and Industrial Solutions. Robotics at Intel falls under Federal and Industrial Solutions, so Christine plays a pivotal role in developing Intel’s solutions roadmap for robotics developers. We talk to her about the key technologies available today from Intel, including software, hardware and sensors essential for robotics development. We’ll also learn what new...
Published 05/04/23
In this episode, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman review some of their favorite 2023 RBR50 Innovation Award honorees, discussing innovation trends in robotics and what stands out as the state of the art in robotics development across the entire industry, from space robotics to your local grocery aisle.
Published 04/21/23
In this episode, we review John Deere AgTech presented at the 2023 John Deere Technology Summit, and interview Jorge Heraud, VP of Autonomy at John Deere. Later in the episode we discuss the sensor and perception stack being developed to operate the Zoox autonomous vehicle with two of Zoox's technology leaders: RJ He and Ryan McMichael. If you love autonomous vehicles, this episode looks at the current state of AV technology in two of the key use cases.
Published 04/18/23
This week, Steve and Mike recap all of the robotics-related technology on display at the 2023 ProMat tradeshow. Steve went to the show and shares his discoveries and some of the conversations with industry leaders. Mike reviews news from the NVIDIA GTC keynote and robotics-related news from NVIDIA.
Published 03/23/23
In the news today, we talk about the breaking story about the impact of Silicon Valley Bank being closed and put into receivership by the FDIC and the impact that this is likely to have on technology startups and the VCs that support their growth. This rapidly evolving situation is likely to have repercussions for the tech industry the remainder of the year. Unrelated to the SVB story, we also interview Rylan Hamilton, co-founder and CEO of 6 River Systems about his start in robotics with...
Published 03/10/23
Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman discuss the uncloaking of Figure.AI, a new humanoid robot. They also discuss the latest with ChatGPT and what the latest release brings for roboticists. Our guest on the show today is Dejan Pangercic, co-founder and CTO of APEX.ai, an autonomous vehicle software company that has built a hardned OS around ROS 2. Dejan takes us through the features of the software and why it is an important solution for developers of autonomous vehicles today.
Published 03/03/23
This week, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman talk to industry veteran Ted Larson, the co-founder and CEO of OLogic. Ted, and OLogic have helped many robotic entrepreneurs through the design & development process of complex systems. Ted shares some of his favorite stories and valuable tips related to the complexities of developing successful robotic solutions.
Published 02/25/23
This week cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman explore the various robotic and automation solutions that were on display at the 2023 World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA. The episode features interviews with representatives from Monarch Tractor, Agtonomy, Carbon Robotics and Farmwise. Mike also discusses new solutions from Tevel Aerobotics, Farm-NG, Amos Power, Nexus Robotics, Bluewhite, Beewise, and Guardian Agriculture.
Published 02/20/23
Cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman review the news of the week, including a wayward Marty robot "out for a fresh air break". Joining us on the show this week is Aaron Prather, who is one of the robotics industries best known influencers. Aaron is a frequent speaker and discusses his new role at ASTM and reflects on his prior experience evaluating new robotics and automation for logistics and warehouse workflows in his previous role at FedEx. If you work for a young robotics startup, this is...
Published 02/09/23
This week, co-hosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman review the latest Boston Dynamics Atlas video and how Atlas is getting more agile through simulation. Mike Oitzman reviews his recent trip to CES 2023, and features interviews with Aeolus Robotics Head of Product, Dan Haddick. Next we talk to Robosen Chief Marketing Officer Tony Crisp about the capabilities of Optimus Prime toy robot, and what's next on their roadmap. Finally, Mike recaps the recent IAC @ CES autonomous car race and interviews...
Published 01/21/23
Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the top moments and biggest stories that happened in the robotics industry during 2022. Thanks again to all our listeners and guests for another great year!
Published 12/21/22
This week we discuss the issue of police officers using robots with lethal force in emergency situations. After an initial 8-3 vote approving such a measure, San Francisco's board of supervisors reversed course this week and temporarily banned its police officers from using robots with lethal force. To break this all down, we're joined by Paul Scharre, Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security. ​Paul previously worked in the Office of the Secretary of...
Published 12/09/22