The Robot Report Podcast

Our guests this week are Charlie Kemp, CTO and cofounder of Hello Robot and Jan Zizka, CEO and cofounder of Brightpick. Join us as we explore the groundbreaking introduction of the Giraffe robot by Brightpick. In this episode, Jan Zizka shares the journey of creating a two-stage telescopic robot designed to revolutionize warehouse operations. Discover the innovative solutions that address logistic...

Our guests on this episode are John Santagate, Sr Vice President, from Infios, Elliot Helms from Novanta and Aleksandr Malashchenko from Revimo. In the featured conversation, John Santagate, Senior Vice President of Global Robotics at Infios, discusses his journey in the supply chain robotics industry, the recent rebranding of Infios, and the impact of automation and AI on warehousing. He shares i...

Our guests on this episode are Tim Bucher, CEO of Agtonomy, and Sean Walters, General Manager, Captron. In this conversation, Tim Bucher, CEO of Agtonomy, discusses the intersection of agriculture and technology, emphasizing the importance of understanding farming to create effective tech solutions. He shares insights on Agtonomy's mission to automate high-value crop farming, the significance of p...

Our guests on this episode are Laura Major, CEO of Motional, and Sankaet Pathek, founder and CEO of Foundation. Cohost Mike Oitzman interviews Laura Major, CEO of Motional, about its advancements in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. Major discusses Motional's focus on AI and machine learning, emphasizing the shift from technical to business leadership. They have conducted pilot activities in Las...

Welcome to our 200th episode! Our guest in this episode is Dr Robert Ambrose, Texas A&M professor and Chairman of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Alliant. In this conversation, Dr. Rob Ambrose discusses his extensive experience in robotics and artificial intelligence, particularly during his time at NASA. He highlights the evolution of robotics in space exploration, the transition to comme...

Our guest in this episode is Cam Myers, founder and CEO of CreateMe. He discusses the innovative application of robotics and adhesive technology in garment production. He shares insights on the challenges faced in automating clothing manufacturing, the benefits of using adhesives over traditional sewing methods, and the potential for reshoring production in response to changing tariffs. The discus...

In this conversation, Robert Kufner, CEO and President of SDP/SI, discusses the evolution of the company in response to the changing demands of the tech industry, particularly in automation and robotics. He highlights the importance of customer feedback and investment in advanced manufacturing technologies. The discussion also covers the impact of the changing tariff landscape on SDP/SI and its cu...

Our guest in this episode is Nicolas Radford, CEO and co-founder of Persona AI. Persona is commercializing a multi-purpose humanoid to personify AI, enabling the next wave in robotics. No longer are robots confined to the factory floor performing pick and place, welding, or painting, but they are now capable of tasks traditionally reserved only for human-level coordination and mobility. We hear ab...

Our guest in this episode is Geoffrey Biggs, CTO of the Open Source Robotics Foundation. He updates us on the recent ROS 2 Kilted Kaiju release, the pending ROS 1 sunset and the future of OSRF. Co-host Steve Crowe returns from Georgia with an update on the 2025 ICRA event. He discusses the event and all of the various robot demos at the event. ICRA is primarily a research-focused robotics event, a...

This week, co-hosts Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre recap the 2025 Automate show in Detroit, MI. In additional to their personal experiences and take-aways from the event, we also feature show floor interviews with: - Ujjwal Kumar, Group President Teradyne Robotics - Marc Segura, President of ABB Robotics - Carole Franklin, Director of Standards Development, Robotics, at Association for Advancing A...

Our guest in this episode is Giovanni Campanella, the Industrial Automation and Robotics General Manager at Texas Instruments (TI). In this conversation, co-host Mike Oitzman speaks with Campanella about TI's extensive portfolio in industrial automation and robotics, highlighting key product lines and the company's collaboration with various robotics companies. Giovanni shares insights into the ch...

This episode comes to you live from the expo floor of the 2025 Robotics Summit and Expo in Boston. Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the event and Mike talks to several friends of the show from the show floor. We catch up with Aaaron Prather, from ASTM. Then Mike talked to Amos Miller from Glidance before his session on personal robotics. Finally, we learn about the upcoming production release fr...

Our guest this week is Angus Pacala, CEO and Co-founder of Ouster Lidar. In this conversation, Pacala, discusses the advancements in lidar technology, particularly the introduction of their new 3D zone monitoring feature. He explains the benefits of 3D lidar over traditional 2D systems, emphasizing safety and flexibility in industrial applications. The discussion also covers the evolution of Ouste...

Featured interview this week: Rob Marshick, Enidine National Sales Manager The team also covers the news from the week, including the ABB Robotics spinout announcement; the Hugging Face/Pollen Robotics acquisition; and various autonomous trucking and mobile robotics product announcements. ### Our sponsor this week is Enidine. Established in 1966, Enidine is a premier supplier of highly engineered...

Our guests this week are Nick Thompson, CEO and co-founder of BOW, and Daniel Camilleri, CTO and founder of BOW. BOW is a robotics platform that aims to simplify the development of robotic applications. They discuss the challenges in the robotics industry, the features of the BOW SDK, and the company's business model. The conversation also touches on partnerships, the integration with ROS, and the...

On the show this week, the entire editorial staff of The Robot Report discusses the 2025 winners of the RBR50 innovation awards. The editors talk about some of the standout solutions in this cohort of RBR50 winners, including Robot of the year: Waymo; Application of the year: TEPCO; Startup of the year: Mytra; Robots for good: Hello Robot. See the complete list on The Robot Report website: https:/...

Our guest this week is Ali Kashani, co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics, who discusses the company's impressive growth, including a 700% revenue increase, and plans to scale their fleet of delivery robots significantly. He shares insights on partnerships, particularly with Magna for manufacturing and Uber for delivery services, and the challenges of expanding into new markets like Miami. The disc...

On the show this week the co-hosts recap what they saw and learned about at the Promat and NVIDIA GTC 2025 trade shows. You'll hear the latest news and product announcements from the robot companies in attendance.

Our guest this week is Fabio Gehrlicher, Director of Market Expansion at Wandelbots. In the interview, they discuss the company's journey, focusing on its flagship product, Wandelbots NOVA, an agnostic operating system for robots. Fabio explains how NOVA simplifies robot programming, the integration of AI for path planning, and the benefits of simulation-based programming. The conversation also co...

Our guest this week is Mark Messina, the new Managing Director and CEO of ANSCER Robotics America. Mark discusses his journey in the robotics industry, the vision and technology behind ANSCER Robotics, and the strategies for market differentiation. He emphasizes the importance of building valuable products, the challenges of a saturated market, and his personal goals in leading the company. The di...

Our guest this week is Dr Kevin Dowling, Managing Director of the Robotics Factory, discusses the role of the factory in fostering robotics startups in Pittsburgh. He outlines the factory's three main programs: Create, Accelerate, and Scale, which aim to support early-stage companies in various aspects of business development. The discussion also highlights the unique characteristics of Pittsburgh...

Our guest this week is Jeff Cardenas, CEO and co-founder of Apptronik. We invited Cardenas onto the show to give us some insight into the $350 million in Series A funding round announced earlier this week for Apptronik. Apptronik is an Austin TX based humanoid robot manufacturer, and this round of funding is the second largest for a U.S. based humanoid robot startup, after the $650M funding round...

Our guest this week is Chris Painter, the Director of Technical Product Management at CNH Industrial. In this conversation, co-host Mike Oitzman and Chris talk about the advancements in precision agriculture, the critical role of connectivity, and the challenges faced by farmers in rural areas. They discuss the importance of real-time data for operational efficiency, the future of autonomy in farm...

Our guest this week is Erin Linebarger, CEO and co-founder of Robotics88. In this conversation, Erin Linebarger discusses the innovative use of drones in wildfire management, particularly through prescribed fire techniques. The discussion covers the genesis of the company, the importance of data in fire management, the technology behind their drones, and the future of wildfire mitigation efforts g...

Our guest this week is John Santagate, Senior Vice President, Robotics, Körber Supply Chain Software. John gives a look back at 2024 for the warehouse industry, as well as a look forward to what we might expect to come in the year ahead. The cohosts also recap the robotics news from CES 2025, and the A3 business event from earlier this month. We also cover the top news stories from the robotics in...