Ep 62 – The Billion-Dollar Blind Spot in Enterprise Robotics
In Ep 62 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia imagine a fleet of LLM-powered “Robot Ranger 3000” dog bots to track and protect endangered deer, complete with battery swaps, forest-wide power cables, and some very questionable AI decisions.Then, they dig into the real challenges of enterprise robotics — from integrating with decades-old IT systems to why autonomy is the key to efficiency in mining and agriculture. They also share how fundraising doubles as a sales tactic and why trillion dollar industries still fly under Silicon Valley’s radar.
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50:41
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50:41
Ep 61 - The Three Laws of Robotics
In ep 61 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia dive headfirst into robot subversion hoodies, self-cleaning backyards, and the philosophical sinkholes of the Three Laws of Robotics. They explore why "don't hurt humans" is harder to code than it sounds, the limits of common sense in machine learning, and how old sci-fi still haunts today’s AI safety debates.Then, things get weird. From fiber optic controlled drones in Ukraine to perimeter defense bots equipped with buzzsaws, the duo brainstorm real (and, our lawyer wants to say, inadvisable) autonomous battlefield tech. But first, they play the robot invention game and accidentally invent a $2,000 robotic hand-on-a-stick startup.If you're into philosophy, robotics, defense tech, and backyard wood chip problems(?), this one’s for you.
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49:21
Ep 60 - Does Nobody Care About Driver-Out Anymore?
On this episode of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia dive into Aurora’s recent announcement about running driver-out trucks on public highways—an undeniably huge technical feat, but one that curiously failed to make a media splash. But first, they play the Robot Invention Game, drawing a wild scenario: applying deep learning to railroads.
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38:28
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38:28
Ep 59 - David LaRose from Carnegie Robotics on the Reality of Robotics
This week on Automate It, we're excited to have a special guest!Carnegie Robotics co-founder David LaRose joins the podcast to share his perspective on the evolution of robotics from academic research to rugged real-world systems. He reflects on what’s changed - and what hasn’t - over the last 15 years, from safety systems that still rely on spreadsheets to why so many autonomous vehicle projects have stalled.David also unpacks the real challenges of selling to the DoD, the importance of enabling the next generation of robotics companies with hardened components, and what it’s like crawling through Florida cornfields in the name of agtech R&D.(00:00) Introduction and welcome to the episode(00:32) Robot Invention Game: Foundational Models for Space Exploration(18:30) David’s journey from liberal arts to robotics via IBM and CMU(20:41) Founding Carnegie Robotics(23:55) Why the robotics industry hasn’t scaled as fast as expected(29:18) Safety systems: still slow, manual, and deeply fragmented(35:17) Why big companies (Amazon, Apple) still struggle with robotics(40:05) Demos gone wrong: off-by-one bugs, e-stop failures, and bedbugs(45:38) Working with the DoD: myths, structure, and real challenges(01:08:30) Launching ruggedized autonomy kits and components online(01:16:33) Environmental challenges and thermal testing tales(01:20:42) Advice for roboticists: Embrace collaboration, not just competition(01:23:00) What’s next for Carnegie Robotics: Supporting the enablers
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1:13:27
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1:13:27
Ep 58 - Why is Hardware So Expensive?
In the 58th episode of Automate It, Polymath Robotics co-founders Stefan Seltz-Axmacher and Ilia Baranov discuss why hardware for robots is so dang expensive.But first, they play the robot invention game and come up with a humanoid axe murderer.
Each week, the co-founders of Polymath Robotics sit down to give you the inside scoop on the robotics industry. They'll share war stories, weird facts, and little-known approaches to working with robots (with a special focus on autonomous vehicles).
About the hosts:
Stefan Seltz-Axmacher is the CEO of Polymath Robotics, and is best known as the founder of Starsky Robotics, an early autonomous trucking pioneer. Ilia Baranov, CTO, was employee # 10 at Clearpath Robotics, has led teams at Amazon's home robot division, and owned the ROS repo after Willow Garage shut down.
South Africa