The Robot Report Podcast

Our guest on the show this week is Spencer Krause, CEO and co-founder of SKA Robotics. A longtime friend of the show, Krause shares insights into the development process for new robotics solutions, and a deep dive into ruggedized field robotics. From automating giant mining trucks to launching “software-defined” actuators, Spencer discusses the “mercenary” engineering mindset, including “war stories” from the field, and why hardware is the next frontier in the Post-AI era.
Learn more:
https://skarobotics.com/
https://tensiondynamics.com/
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Register for the 2026 Robotics Summit: https://www.roboticssummit.com/

This week cohosts Steve Crowe and Mike Oitzman recap the robots of CES 2026, and review the news of the week.
Guest appearances by Chris Matthieu, VP, Developer Ecosystem at RealSense and Ahti Heinla , co-founder, CEO, Starship to talk about their predictions for 2026.

Join host Steve Crowe and The Robot Report editorial team (Gene Demaitre, Mike Oitzman, and Brianna Wessling) for the annual end-of-year wrap-up. The team breaks down the most significant stories, trends, and market shifts that defined the robotics industry in 2025 and looks ahead to 2026.

Key Topics Discussed:

- Business Shake-ups: An analysis of iRobot entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy and ABB selling its mobile robot division to SoftBank.

- The Year of the Humanoid: A look at the $3.5B+ invested in humanoid companies and the rise of physical AI.

- Autonomous Systems: Updates on Waymo’s scaling challenges, Amazon’s 1M deployed robots, and the impact of autonomous systems in the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts.

- Industry Trends: The spin-out of Intel RealSense, the return of a national robotics strategy, and new approaches to home robotics (1X, Sunday, Weave).

Featured Guest Vignettes:

- John Santagate: On tote-to-man methodologies and multi-agent orchestration.

- Chris Matthieu (RealSense): On open-source brains for physical AI and the emergence of robot sports.

- Evan Helda (Nebius): On data pipelines, real-world data collection, and world models for training.

In this episode, Mike LeBlanc, co-founder of Foundation and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, shares insights from his entrepreneurial journey, particularly his early entrepreneurial experiences with Cobalt Robotics and the lessons learned as a second-time founder.
He discusses the challenges and opportunities in the robotics industry, emphasizing the importance of hardware and the potential of humanoid robots in various applications, including military and space exploration.
LeBlanc also outlines his ambitious goals for deploying a fleet of 10,000 robots and the significance of effective team building and hiring practices in achieving success.
To learn about Foundation goto: https://foundation.bot/

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In this episode, Mike Oitzman and Gene Demaitre interview Rebecca Hu-Thrams, CEO and co-founder of Glacier, about the challenges and innovations in recycling technology. Rebecca discusses the complexities of the recycling process, the role of automation in improving efficiency, and Glacier's mission to modernize recycling systems.
She highlights the importance of partnerships with major companies like Amazon and Colgate Palmolive to enhance recycling outcomes and reduce carbon emissions.
The conversation also covers Glacier's unique approach to building custom recycling robots and their impact on the circular economy.

To learn more about Glacier Robotics goto: https://endwaste.io/

Mike Oitzman catches up with Parallax Worlds CEO Tanmay Agarwal to learn more about its recent funding round.

Learn more at: https://www.parallaxworlds.com/