Welcome to Episode 27 of The Robot Report Podcast, where each week Robot Report editors Steve Crowe and Eugene Demaitre review 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 session, Steve Crowe and Eugene Demaitre speak with Joel Reed, the interim executive director of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network. He is also the former VP and CEO of IAM Robotics, a leading developer of autonomous mobile manipulators. Joel updates us on the status of the Pittsburgh robotics cluster, tells us about some interesting companies to watch, his daily sightings of autonomous vehicles, and how the cluster has handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crowe and Demaitre also dive into Aurora’s acquisition of Uber’s self-driving unit, the Advanced Technologies Group. They try to determine why Aurora would have purchased Uber ATG, which spent more than $3 billion developing self-driving cars that reportedly “couldn’t drive more than half a mile without encountering a problem.” And an Uber employee reportedly sent an internal email shortly before the March 2018 fatal crash that said “a car was damaged nearly every other day in February. We shouldn’t be hitting things every 15,000 miles.”
Podcast Timestamps
- 0-3:24: Show Intro
- 3:25-41:18: Conversation with Joel Reed, interim executive director, Pittsburgh Robotics Network
- 41:19-42:04: RoboBusiness Direct preview
- 42:05-56:46: Why did Aurora acquire Uber ATG?
- 56:47-1:01:23: AutoX launches first driverless fleet in Shenzhen, China
- 1:01:24-1:06:49: Can LiDAR sensors make robot vacuums susceptible to hackers?
- 1:06:50-1:08:45: Show Outro
Want to Be a Guest?
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 or Eugene Demaitre. For sponsorship opportunities for The Robot Report Podcast, contact Courtney Nagle.
