Beyond The Bench

What if simulations that normally take a week on thousands of CPUs could run in seconds? In this episode of Beyond the Bench, we sit down with Greg Fallon (CEO of Geminus AI) to explore how physical AI is transforming industries—from oil refineries to power plants—by combining physics-based simulations with machine learning. Learn more about Geminus AI - https://geminus.ai Talk to Peridio - https:...

Legacy PLC systems power most of modern manufacturing—but they weren’t designed for interoperability, intelligence, or scale. In this episode, Roby Lynn (CEO & Co-Founder of R2 Labs) walks through how a software-defined, edge-native control layer can augment existing automation systems with AI, real-time data processing, and cross-system communication. Talk to Peridio - https://www.peridio.com...

In this solo episode of Beyond the Bench, Peridio CEO Bill Brock breaks down one of the biggest bottlenecks in robotics and physical AI: the operating system layer. As AI models move from the cloud into physical machines, companies are deploying more compute directly onto devices like Nvidia Jetson, Raspberry Pi, and other embedded systems. But once teams move beyond early prototypes, a difficult...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill Brock sits down with Rob Callaghan, Chief Product Officer at Connect Tech, about what actually changes when edge AI and robotics move from prototype to production. They cover why hardware still breaks outside the lab, how NVIDIA’s Thor platform shifts the x86 vs Jetson decision, and where teams underestimate the jump from a handful of units to real fleets...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill Brock is joined by his co-founder, Justin Schneck, Chief Product Officer at Peridio and creator of Avocado OS, for a deep dive into what it actually takes to ship and scale NVIDIA Jetson devices in production. NVIDIA has unlocked an incredible wave of physical AI. Jetson makes it easy to prototype. Jetpack makes it easy to get started. But once teams move...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill Brock interviews Ari Eisenstein, co-founder and CTO of Pickle Robotics. They discuss the evolution of robotics and AI, focusing on Pickle's innovative approach to logistics automation. Ari shares insights into the challenges of deploying robots in real-world environments, the importance of AI in enhancing robotic functionality, and the company's vi...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, host Bill Brock sits down with Art Tkachenko, Head of Software at Hubble Network, to explore a groundbreaking shift in connectivity. Art shares how Hubble Network enables standard Bluetooth chips to communicate directly with satellites, unlocking global coverage for low-power IoT devices—without requiring expensive or complex infrastructure. They dive into the...

In this episode, Bill sits down with Robert Otręba of Grinn, a Poland-based embedded engineering company operating for nearly 18 years. Robert shares how Grinn grew from a two-person startup into a 70-engineer team specializing in system-on-modules (SOMs), embedded Linux, and high-speed hardware design.

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill Brock sits down with Dhruv Diddi, Founder of Solo Tech, to explore how Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models are transforming robotics. Dhruv breaks down how these models enable robots to see, understand, and act, bridging AI and the physical world. The conversation covers real-world training challenges, hardware integration, and the rise of open-source robo...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, host Bill Brock talks with Henrik Flodell, Senior Marketing Director at Alif Semiconductor, a company redefining embedded AI. They discuss how AI is evolving in the semiconductor industry and how Alif’s architecture - combining neural processing units (NPUs) with microcontroller cores, enables low-power, hardware-accelerated intelligence at the edge. Talk to Pe...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, host Bill Brock sits down with Chris Matthieu, VP of Developer Ecosystem and Chief Hacker at RealSense, to discuss the company’s spinout from Intel and its recent $50 million Series A raise. They explore how RealSense balances developer creativity with production readiness, advances in robotics and AI, the power of open source, and the growing importance of dom...

In this conversation, Bill Brock interviews Alexander Schwartz, the Embedded Business Line Manager of SolidRun, discussing the company's innovative embedded solutions and the evolving landscape of AI and hardware technology. Alex shares his journey as a tech entrepreneur, the importance of performance in AI on-device applications, and the development of the SolidSense AIoT platform inspired by...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill Brock interviews Rob Taylor, the CTO of Chip Flow. They discuss Rob's journey in the semiconductor industry, the evolution of open source in chip design, the challenges faced by companies in this space and the decision-making process for companies when it comes to chip design. Connect with Bill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbrock25/ Talk to Peridio: ⁠...

In this conversation, Guy Forster, CEO of ipXchange, discusses the complexities of engaging with design engineers in today's chaotic market. He reflects on the evolution of Silicon Valley's culture from wild west to corporate, the importance of in-person connections post-COVID, the rise of Edge AI, and the need for companies to adapt to the changing landscape by engaging more deeply with t...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill sits down with Mirza Shah, Co-Founder & CTO of Simbe Robotics, the company behind the popular retail robot Tally. Simbe recently closed a $50M Series C round led by Goldman Sachs, tripled its team, and is pioneering the future of retail intelligence with AI-powered robotics. They discuss how Simbe is transforming retail with AI, robotics and computer v...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench: Hardware Stories that Matter, host Bill Brock sits down with Bill Flaherty, VP of Technology Development at Alloy Enterprises. They dive deep into stack forging, a breakthrough manufacturing process for high-performance thermal management parts powering the future of AI, GPUs, and data centers. From diffusion bonding to liquid cooling challenges, this conversat...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill Brock sits down with Jan Sulaiman, VP of Global IoT Solutions at 1NCE, to explore the challenges and opportunities of scaling IoT from a handful of devices to millions worldwide. Jan shares how 1NCE grew from a 12-person startup to serving 25,000+ customers and 30M+ connected devices, the key hurdles in global connectivity, and why simplicity is the founda...

In this episode, Bill Brock sits down with Z, a pioneer in IoT long before it was called IoT. Syed shares the story of founding Aeris Communications in 1996, literally from his dining table, and growing it into a global leader in IoT connectivity, culminating in the acquisition of Ericsson’s IoT business. Connect with Bill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbrock25/ Talk to Peridio: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.peri...

In this episode, Bill Brock sits down with Matt St. Onge, Associate Principal Solution Architect at Red Hat, veteran of the Linux community since the mid-90s, and author of The Embedded Linux Security Handbook. We dive into Matt’s fascinating journey, from writing his first video game in the early ’80s on a hand-built Apple II clone, to helping lead Red Hat’s efforts in embedded Linux, to champion...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill Brock interviews Hunter Golden, Senior Product Manager at OnLogic. They discuss the importance of right sizing AI hardware for edge computing applications, deployment challenges, and the future of AI in manufacturing and robotics. The conversation highlights the need for effective hardware solutions that meet customer needs while avoiding overspecification...

In this episode of Beyond the Bench, Bill Brock interviews Roby Lynn, CEO and co-founder of R2 Labs, a company focused on creating open autonomy control systems for industrial machinery and robotics. They discuss the challenges in the industrial automation landscape, the importance of bridging the gap between software-defined robotics and traditional industrial controls, and share success stories...

Mike Costa from Volta Labs discusses transitioning from high-volume consumer electronics (Nike, SimpliSafe, WHOOP) to precision lab automation. Learn about building robots for genomics, the challenges of micro-liter fluidics, scaling from prototype to production, and why Boston's life sciences ecosystem is thriving. From embedded systems to DNA sequencing - a hardware engineer's journey into the f...

On this episode of Beyond the Bench, we’re joined by Mattia Lucchini, Head of Wearable Sensors at Datwyler, to break down the tech behind biopotential sensing. From soft pulse electrodes to edge signal processing, Mattia walks us through how modern hardware is making real-time EEG, ECG, and EMG monitoring possible in wearables. We dive into the challenges of analog front-end design, the materials...

On this episode, Keenan Johnson—founder of Ribbit Network and Breadboard Foundry—joins us to talk about climate tech, open hardware, and building tools that actually move the needle. We explore how Ribbit’s global network of 3D-printed frog sensors is tracking greenhouse gases, why Breadboard Foundry is rethinking hardware planning from the ground up, and what it really takes to engineer for impac...

Taylor Cooper, CEO of MistyWest, explains how his team of engineering physicists is revolutionizing mining with cutting-edge hardware. From using cosmic rays to X-ray the Earth for minerals to building fatigue monitors that keep miners safe, Taylor shares why mining needs to scale 6x to support global electrification - and the wild technologies making it possible. Plus, insights on when startups s...