Эпизоды
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In this episode, I talk with Sandor Felber, a Robot Learning Researcher at MIT's CSAIL, where he’s building intelligent control systems for humanoid robots:
We talk about how he got into robotics, from electric race cars at Edinburgh University Formula Student to control frameworks for teleoperation and deep reinforcement learning locomotion.
Sandor has also worked at Tesla, building actuator systems, and now focuses on legged and whole-body control for humanoids.
He and his co-founder, Nathan, were recently accepted into the South Park Commons founder fellowship, where they’re working on deploying humanoid robots for real-world use cases. They are building their own company now!
While the specific application is still open, their goal is to build something useful that makes life a bit easier or better.
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Episode #57: Advancing Bionic and Robotic Hands with Ryan Saavedra, CEO & Founder of Alt-Bionics, Inc.
In this episode, I talk with Ryan Saavedra, founder and CEO of Alt-Bionics, a company making advanced yet affordable bionic hands for both prosthetics and robotics.
Ryan started Alt-Bionics in 2020 while studying Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Since then, he’s been on a mission to bridge the gap between human and robotic dexterity.
We talk about the challenges of building accessible prosthetics, his work with humanoid robots, and how modular design can change the game for repairability and longevity.
It was a great conversation and I truly hope you enjoy today’s episode (despite my raspy voice 😝 ).
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Пропущенные эпизоды?
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In this episode, I talk with Antoine Van Malleghem, a robotics engineer and Co-Founder of Botronics:
They are building the next-generation autonomous golf trolley using machine learning, and advanced computer vision.
Antoine shares his journey from IT consultancy to robotics entrepreneurship, why he took a pay cut to follow his passion and the technical challenges of developing AI-driven autonomous systems.
Building a company is tough.
Antoine and his co-founder, Eric Piraux, had to return to consulting temporarily to fund their journey. But that didn’t shake them; they knew exactly why they were doing it.
Had a great time recording this one, especially showing other forms of robots! Hope you enjoy the episode!
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My newest guest is Frédéric Legrand, a founding engineer at Phospho (YC W24), an AI company based in Paris focused on making AI robotics more accessible.
Frédéric grew up in France but spent nearly a decade in Hong Kong before returning for his higher education. With a passion for building (both in software and hardware), he’s now working on helping machine learning engineers get started with AI in robotics.
At Phospho, he’s building SDKs, tutorials, and dev kits to make real-world robotics more approachable, all in Python.
We discuss his journey into AI robotics, how Phospho is simplifying robotics development, and why lowering the entry barrier is crucial for the next wave of intelligent automation.
Hope you enjoy this one!
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In this episode, I talk with Sankaet Pathak, founder of Foundation. Their first product? A humanoid robot built for real-world tasks:
Foundation is an advanced technology company developing autonomous machines. Why start with humanoids?
To automate labour across manufacturing, logistics, and defence.
Sankaet shares his journey from computer engineering and physics at the University of Memphis to leading AI and robotics innovation.
We discuss why current AI models struggle with real-world physics, why Foundation is taking a different approach to autonomy, and what it will take to bring humanoid robots from labs to everyday work.
This episode is packed with bold ideas and hard tech insights; hope you enjoy it!
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This week, I talked with Aadeel Akhtar, PhD Akhtar, CEO and Founder of PSYONIC, a company redefining prosthetics with AI-powered bionic limbs:
You might have seen him on Shark Tank or heard about PSYONIC’s Ability Hand, an advanced prosthetic that’s setting new standards for accessibility and performance.
Aadeel’s story is fascinating. He started out studying neuroscience and medicine and then pivoted to building next-generation bionics.
We discuss his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, what it takes to scale deep tech hardware, and why the future of prosthetics isn’t just for humans, but also for robots.
It’s an inspiring convo packed with insights on deep tech, AI, and building a real-world impact startup, its low lows and high highs and how to make it through!
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In this episode, I talk with Usman Roshan, founder of 7Xrobotics and Associate Professor in AI and Machine Learning at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Usman and his co-founder are building autonomous household robots designed to tackle everyday tasks like dishwashing and laundry folding; turning AI into real, practical solutions for the home.
We discuss his journey from academia to robotics entrepreneurship, his research on deep learning models for video understanding, and how he’s developing affordable, AI-powered robots with a total cost of around $7,000.
Usman shares insights on the challenges of building a working product, what it takes to bridge AI research with real-world applications, his passion for art and what things to consider from a business point of view.
It was a fascinating conversation... hope you enjoy today’s episode!
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In today's 51st episode, I talk to Adrian Macneil, Co-Founder and CEO of Foxglove:
Adrian Macneil is the Co-Founder & CEO of Foxglove, a purpose-built robotics development platform to increase the GDP of robotics.
Coming from New Zealand with a degree in Computer Science, Adrian knew early on that his home country wasn’t big enough for his ambitions. He moved to San Francisco, the center of entrepreneurship and tech startups.
He was an early employee at Coinbase, working long hours through its highs and lows, before joining Cruise, where he built large-scale infrastructure for autonomous vehicles.
In this episode, he shares his experience as a deep tech founder, the challenges of building a platform for robotics development tools, why he sees Rust as the future of robotics, and why starting a company means committing at least 10 years to solving a real problem.
This episode is for you if you're a founder, or engineer working in AI, robotics or deep tech.
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I sit down with the Founder and CEO of Synapticon, Nikolai Ensslen:
Nikolai Ensslen and Andrija Feher are the founders of Synapticon, a company reshaping motion control for robotics and industrial automation.
He shares his journey from studying Engineering Science at the University of Bayreuth to building and leading a global company that seamlessly integrates servo drives, sensors, brakes, and functional safety into AI-powered systems.
Nikolai shares his early influences - growing up in a creative household, with parents deeply involved in art and design, and a father renowned in marketing. Despite this artistic environment, Nikolai gravitated toward technology from an early age.
He reflects on the challenges of standing out (like carrying a laptop in the mid-90s) and how countless hours spent with his university’s first racing team shaped his resilience. That resilience, he says, has been invaluable in his entrepreneurial journey.
Also about the real economics behind robotics, and how Europe stacks up against the rest of the world in deep tech innovation.
A fascinating conversation with strong opinions—don’t miss this one!
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In this episode, I sit down with Sanjeev Sharma, the visionary Founder and CEO of Swaayatt Robots. Sanjeev shares his journey from academia to building autonomous driving technology that thrives in India's uniquely chaotic and adversarial traffic conditions.We discuss his decision to forego a PhD opportunity at UMass Amherst to bootstrap Swaayatt Robots, how he demonstrated autonomous navigation on Indian roads (a global first!!) and the incredible potential for autonomous systems in military and civilian applications.Sanjeev’s story is one of persistence and hard work, with insights on navigating stochastic traffic, motion planning, reinforcement learning, and working and planning with limited resources.It’s a fascinating look at how cutting-edge technology can tackle some of the world's toughest challenges.
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In my latest episode, I talk to the Progressive Robotics Co-Founder & CEO Fotis Dimeas:
In this episode of Kinematic Conversations, I speak with Fotis Dimeas, who moved from an academic career to co-founding Progressive Robotics, a deep-tech spin-off making robotics better for manufacturing and logistics.
Fotis shares his journey from earning a Ph.D. in Robotics at the University of Patras to his research at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. We discuss the challenges of closing the "valley of death" between research and industry and the vision behind Progressive Robotics: making robots smarter, safer, and easier to use.
Tune in to hear about the realities of deep-tech entrepreneurship, the value of focusing on hands-on efforts (like spending time on the shop floor), and a closer look at Progressive Robotics' work, including side-picking solutions for palletizing and depalletizing.
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Ep 47: Robert MacKenzie former CTO and Chief Product Officer of ANYbotics:
Robert is originally from Canada but has spent more than half of his life in Europe. He completed his bachelor's degree in Canada before moving to Germany, where he earned his master’s at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
His journey eventually led him to Zurich, where he completed his PhD at ETH Zurich. Over the years, Robert has worked as a senior project manager and executive in various companies before joining ANYbotics.
In this episode, we talk about Robert’s journey and his studies, career milestones, and the challenges he’s faced along the way. We also explore his passion for working with people, building teams, and creating practical solutions that address real-world problems.
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In episode #46 I sit down with Christian Piechnick, Co-Founder and CEO of Wandelbots:
We are going back in time and Christian is telling me how he started to program while he was still a kid, with his parent's first computer, helping out the company his mother was working for by writing a program.
Wandelbots, a TU Dresden spin-off founded in 2017 by Christian Piechnick and a team of five, enables non-programmers to teach industrial robots faster and more cost-effectively using smart technology.
Christian and I discuss the challenges of entrepreneurship in Germany, his interest in computer science and robots, which continue to fascinate him, and the importance of teamwork in achieving success.
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Back from the holidays with a brand-new episode! #45 features Miika Satori, founder of Cambrian Robotics
Miika Satori, originally from Finland, has a long background in startups and innovation. With Cambrian Robotics, he focuses on advancing robot capabilities to tackle complex tasks.
In this episode, Miika reflects on his upbringing in rural Finland, where he learned the value of fixing and building from his father.
We explore his early entrepreneurial ventures and his journey with Cambrian, including their $3.5M seed funding and groundbreaking work on robot arms with advanced vision and skills.
Tune in to hear Miika’s perspective on automation challenges and his vision for the future of robotics!
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In this episode, I sit down with Mehul Nariyawala, Co-founder of Matic Robots:
Matic is a company on a mission to simplify home cleaning with autonomous robots powered by cutting-edge AI and vision-based technologies.
Mehul shares his journey from moving to the U.S. from India at a young age, pursuing studies in bioinformatics and earning an MBA, to co-founding Flutter—acquired by Google in 2013 for ~$40M—and later co-founding Matic Robots in 2017.
We also explore Mehul's insights into balancing functionality and user experience in robotics, scaling a hardware company, and the future of autonomous home solutions.
A fascinating conversation for anyone passionate about robotics, entrepreneurship, and making technology more accessible at home.
Tune in to hear Mehul’s story and his vision for Matic Robots!
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In this episode, I speak with Kelsey Pool, a mechanical engineer, roboticist, and open-source advocate based in San Francisco:
Kelsey shares her journey from studying mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder to working on groundbreaking projects in robotics and healthcare.
We dive into her latest project, Zeroth-01 Bot—the world's smallest open-source end-to-end humanoid robot. Starting at just $350, it's designed to be accessible, fully hackable, and revolutionary for education and research.
Kelsey also reflects on her time at Multiply Labs and her decision to carve out space for impactful personal projects.
It’s a conversation full of inspiration and practical insights for anyone passionate about robotics, open-source development, or creating a career that truly reflects your values and interests.
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Episode #42: with Brandon King, Mechanical Engineer and Robotics Enthusiast:
In this episode, I speak with Brandon King, a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Alabama, preparing to graduate in December 2024. Brandon brings experience from internships at Michelin and BLOX, as well as his leadership role on the Controls Team for the EcoCAR program.
We explore his work in manufacturing and robotics, his approach to problem-solving in engineering, and the lessons he has learned through hands-on projects and internships.
Brandon shares his thoughts on moving from academics to industry, including knowing when to pivot, making tough decisions, and pursuing his entrepreneurial ambitions.
This episode offers valuable insights into the journey of an early-career engineer, covering critical moments of growth and decision-making in the field.
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Episode #41, with Christian Löchte, Co-Founder of FORMHAND Automation GmbH, to explore the story behind their universal gripping technology:
Christian shares his journey in robotics and mechanical engineering, spanning over 20 years, and how his passion for mechanics led to the creation of FORMHAND's flexible gripping modules.
We talk about his upbringing, the challenges of building a high-tech startup, the unique applications of FORMHAND's gripping pads in logistics and production, and how they’re transforming efficiency across industries.
If you’re in academia but feel that entrepreneurial spirit, this episode is for you:
We cover everything you need to know about making the leap—from navigating the transition into industry, to developing innovative products, and scaling a startup in the competitive tech landscape.
Don’t miss Christian’s advice for academics aspiring to turn their research into impactful solutions!
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Episode #39: Revolutionizing Sensors for Robotics, with Klajd Lika, CEO of Bota Systems AG:
Klajd shares how his family immigrated from Albania to Greece and the support and love that shaped his journey. He also talks about his education in Athens and his early work in robotics, including hydraulic systems and quadruped robots.
At Bota Systems, based in Zurich, Switzerland, Klajd and his team develop innovative sensors that help robots interact with their environment precisely and easily. Their products simplify automation for industries like manufacturing and healthcare, enabling applications like surface finishing, assembly, and collaborative robotics.
This conversation is packed with valuable lessons for anyone interested in robotics, engineering, or entrepreneurship, but also discussions about the struggles of being a foreigner, and how love and support can strengthen your self-image, helping you focus on what truly matters.
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In this episode, I sit down with Rutav Shah, a first-year PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin. Rutav’s journey in robotics and machine learning started at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, where he earned his Bachelor’s in Computer Science.
Now at UT Austin, he’s diving into advanced research in machine learning and robotics.
Rutav shares his experiences from his time as an undergraduate researcher in the Autonomous Ground Vehicle Research Group to his current projects at UT Austin. We discuss his perspectives on AI-driven robotics, the potential of autonomous systems, and advice for those interested in the field.
This episode offers insights for students, engineers, and anyone interested in the future of robotics and machine learning.
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