How do you build a robotics company?
Join me in my latest podcast episode, where I talk with Sean Murray, co-founder and director of robotics engineering at Realtime Robotics.
Our topics include:
- His past as a chemical engineer
- Motion planning on a chip
- The challenges of starting a robotics company
- The importance of early feedback in product development
- Hiring and retaining the right people
- How academic and industrial motion planning differs
- The next 10 years of industrial robotics
Please enjoy!
Content
00:37 From Montana to Berlin
01:18 Born in Texas
02:26 First Contact with Computers
03:10 Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
04:10 Interests in Bioinformatics
05:37 Reservoir Engineering
07:31 Challenges in Reservoir Engineering
11:12 PhD in Computer Science
13:05 Benefits of having a different background
14:09 Goals in PhD
15:33 Robot Motion Planning on a Chip
18:53 Process of Starting a Robotics Company
20:29 Vision of First Product
21:56 Not what the industry wanted
22:57 First Customer
23:38 How to acquire Funding
24:50 Biggest Challenge to start Realtime Robotics
25:50 On Culture and Hiring
26:38 Philosophy of Hiring People
28:02 Retaining Good People in a Startup Environment
29:23 Building Technical Expertise and Retain it
30:31 Prerequisites to work at Realtime Robotics
31:40 Critical Skills in a Startup Environment
32:35 Differences between Academic and Industrial Motion Planning
35:22 Resolver for Workcell Optimization
38:19 Significance of Early Feedback
40:25 Current Challenges in the Robotics Industry
41:27 Balancing Shortterm and Longterm Goals
42:13 The Next 10 Years
43:28 AI in Robotics
44:44 Impact of Large Language Models in Robotics
45:40 Advice for your younger Self
46:39 Value of Pivoting Faster
47:17 Automation and Fears of Unemployment
49:05 Which jobs will become Obsolete?
49:32 Could Basic Universal Income Unemployment?
51:35 Exercises to Balance out Sitting on a Desk