Welcome to Episode 34 of The Robot Report Podcast, where each week Robot Report editor Steve Crowe reviews the latest robotics, automation and intelligent systems news and announcements, and interview leading roboticists, leaders of innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community.
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In this podcast, Robot Report editor Steve Crowe chats with Helen Greiner, the CEO of Tertill, a Boston-based robot gardening startup. The company was formerly known as Franklin Robotics. Of course, Greiner is also co-founder of iRobot and commercial drone company CyPhy Works. Tertill, which was started on Kickstarter back in 2015 by Rory MacKean, John Chase, and Roomba inventor Joe Jones, first showcased its robot at our RoboBusiness 2016 startup competition and again at our 2017 CES Robotics Conference.
Crowe and Greiner discuss the state of the company, how she will help it scale, and the overall challenges of developing an outdoor consumer robot. They also discuss why she left CyPhy Works in 2017, and what went wrong with the company. CyPhy Works rebranded to Aria Insights before shutting down in March 2019. Its assets were later acquired by FLIR Systems. We also discuss new drone regulations, the future of drone delivery, and much more.
Crowe also comments on top robotics stories, including Aurora forming a partnership with Toyota to develop robotaxis. Does this partnership make Aurora a legitimate competitor to Cruise, Waymo and other leading autonomous vehicle developers?
Podcast Timestamps
- 0-1:51 – Show Intro
- 1:52-39:36 – Conversation with Helen Greiner, CEO, Tertill
- 39:37-48:07 – News Commentary – Aurora partners with Toyota; ROS 2 driver for UR cobots
- 47:08-49 – Show Outro
Show Notes
- Aurora Partners with Denso, Toyota on Robotaxi Development
- Cruise, Waymo Lead Way in California Autonomous Vehicle Testing
- Dean Kamen: Engineering Robots for the Future
- FLIR Acquires Aria Insights’ Tethered Drone Assets
- PickNik Developing ROS 2 Driver for UR Cobots
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If you would like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of The Robot Report Podcast, or have recommendations for guests, please contact Steve Crowe. For sponsorship opportunities for The Robot Report Podcast, contact Courtney Nagle.
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