Achieving Success in Robotics Through Specialization

Twelve years ago, I left a dream role building robotic dogs at Boston Dynamics to create a new class of robots that could solve construction’s biggest problems. I didn’t know what to expect as a founder in such a specialized space - how to raise funding, build a prototype, or assemble a team that could bring the vision to life. After eight years leading Canvas, my perspective and priorities have changed drastically. Here are the three biggest things I would tell any new founder in robotics: 1. Quantify Customer Needs Early Everything revolves around understanding and quantifying what your customer needs early and fast. Customers often can’t do this for you. Listen closely, study their workflow, define measurable outcomes, and share those metrics back, including price. Even if you’re off at first, it sparks the right conversation and ensures you know what to build. 2. Build for Reliability Hardware cycles are long, and you only get a few builds - pivoting isn't easy. That makes prioritization critical. Reliability is a critical and often overlooked customer need. It generally requires months of focus beyond the initial design and build to get right. Make it part of your plan from day one. 3. Set a few Clear Goals, then Hyperfocus on Them Your team is most motivated when they have clear, focused goals. Focus creates alignment and momentum. The team’s work is rewarded when customers love what they build — and that’s only possible if they understand what success looks like. Most importantly: hardware is hard. Robots are hard. That’s the reality and the opportunity. Embrace it, roll with it, and you might build something that changes everything.

The world of Robotics just changed overnight. And it’s been in the works for years. I still remember how excited we were when NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang gave a unique shout-out to Gideon at #GTC21 (check out the video below), hinting at what would eventually happen when the worlds of AI and Robotics collide. Jensen back then: "The signs are clear: accelerated computing doing AI at data center scale will give a giant boost in simulation performance." Jensen today: "Everything that moves in the future will be robotic." NVIDIA Robotics just announced a series of robotics breakthroughs at NVIDIA GTC, with a clear aim of democratizing the building of AI Robots with game-changing foundational components and tools: • Isaac Manipulator, a collection of state-of-the-art motion generation and modular AI capabilities for robotic arms, • Isaac Perceptor, Visual AI for Autonomous Mobile Robot (watch out if you’re building smart AMRs!), • GR00T, a general-purpose foundation model for humanoid robot learning, • a new Jetson Thor-based computer for humanoid robots, built on the NVIDIA Thor SoC, • Isaac Lab for robot learning, • Isaac OSMO for hybrid-cloud workflow orchestration. Mindblowing. 😮 It validates what we at Gideon have believed in for the past 7 years: the future of flexible robots will be powered by advanced visual perception and AI. If you want to build meaningful robotics companies, there’s never been a better time. And it’s never been more important to: 1. Listen to your early customers and focus on adding value to them from day one. Build long-term relationships with their People and help them solve their top problems. 2. Specialize! Focus on solving one specific problem at a time. Do not build universal platforms, trying to tackle many problems at once. When customers hear about your company, they should immediately know you’re the best in the world to solve a specific problem they have. 3. Do not reinvent the wheel; use the off-the-shelf components whenever possible. 4. Data to train your robots is key. Generalized components and platforms will always miss industry-specific data and customer insights you should have access to, so use them to build. It’s your secret superpower and a future growth flywheel. 5. Make sure your robots talk to and cooperate well with other systems. 6. Do not underestimate the complexities of deploying AI robots in the real world, especially in commercial environments. Invest in people, processes, and tools to handle this properly early on. This will make or break you. The real world is nothing like your simulation environment. 7. Partner with key industry players to accelerate your growth (like we did with Toyota Material Handling Europe.) All the building blocks are finally coming together. What is the robot you’ll start working on today? #NVIDIA #JensenHuang #Robotics #AI #AIRobotics #VisualAI #VisualPerception #ComputerVision #GTC24 #AMR #AGV #MobileRobots #HumanoidRobots

🔹 6 Years of Robotics Career Advice in 6 Minutes 🔹 (How I transitioned from Mechanical Engg. to Robotics: https://lnkd.in/eMpKPihc) 🚀 Currently working as an AI Manipulation and Motion Planning Engineer at NEURA Robotics with an M.Sc. in Robotic Systems Engineering from RWTH Aachen University Aachen, here’s what I’ve learned: 🌐 Experience Overview 🤖 NEURA Robotics (Oct 2024 - Present) 🔬DFKI - Researcher, Robot Learning (Oct 2022 - Sep 2024) 🖥️ Jenoptik - Computer Vision Engineer (Dec 2021 - Sep 2022) 🔍 Sewts - Master Thesis, Fabric Manipulation (Jan 2021 - Aug 2021) 🧭 IGMR RWTH - AI Task Planning (Dec 2020 - Jul 2021) 🦾 Agile Robots - Deep Learning Intern (May 2020 - Oct 2020) 🚁 Uniper - Working Student, Robotics & Computer Vision (Jun 2019 - Apr 2020) 🚗 Honda R&D - Mechanical Design Engineer (Jul 2016 - Jul 2018) 🛠️ DRDO INMAS - Mechanical Product Design Intern (Jun 2015 - 2016) 1️⃣ Practical work experience trumps everything 🌍 Real-world projects make you job-ready ✅ Seek internships, co-ops, or personal projects ✅ Each project builds new, practical skills ✅ Don’t be afraid to experiment and make mistakes 2️⃣ Master Core Skills 💻 Strong software dev skills are essential ✅ Prioritize proficiency in Python and C++ ✅ Embrace frameworks like ROS for robotics ✅ Learn version control, testing, and debugging 3️⃣ You cannot know everything, define your Niche and focus on it🎯 Focus on developing a foundation in key areas like Perception, Planning, Learning, Control, Behaviors but choose one of the domains and aim to gain mastery in it ✅ Develop deep expertise in one area, e.g. Perception, Machine Learning, etc. ✅ Stay informed about trends in other niches ✅ The industry values specialization. So, focus on it 4️⃣ Networking will open invisible doors for you 🤝 Your connection can give you access to job opportunities you didn't even know existed ✅ Attend conferences and join online communities ✅ Share your projects and thoughts on LinkedIn ✅ Networking isn’t just about asking—support others, too 5️⃣ Don't take the basics for granted 📜 Fundamentals like DSA are crucial in coding interviews ✅ Practice on LeetCode or HackerRank regularly ✅ Understanding algorithms aids in problem-solving ✅ Strong basics make technical interviews smoother I hope these insights help you accelerate your robotics journey! (How I transitioned from Mechanical Engg. to Robotics: https://lnkd.in/eMpKPihc)