The Robot Report Podcast

Our guest this week is Arthur Erickson, CEO of Hylio, as he discusses the evolution and strategic direction of Hylio, an American drone company.
Erickson shares the company's journey from its inception at UT Austin, where it initially aimed to create a general-purpose industrial drone, to its current focus on agricultural applications.
Hylio has carved a niche in the agricultural drone market, competing against major Chinese brands by offering American-made drones that prioritize data security and customer support.
The discussion highlights the impact of geopolitical trends, such as the U.S. ban on foreign drones, which has spurred interest in Western-sourced drones.
Erickson also discusses the technological advancements in Hylio's drones, including AI integration for route planning and obstacle detection, and the company's expansion into other markets like solar farm maintenance and emergency response.
The conversation underscores Hylio's commitment to innovation and adaptability in a rapidly evolving industry.
Learn more at: https://www.hyl.io/
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Our guest this week is Boris Sofman, co-founder and CEO of Bedrock Robotics, who covers a wide range of topics related to the automation of heavy machinery.
Boris discussed Bedrock's mission to develop autonomy technologies for construction equipment like excavators and bulldozers, aiming to make them fully operatorless.
He shared insights from his experience at Waymo, highlighting parallels between autonomous vehicles and the automation of heavy machinery.
The discussion also touched on the market opportunities in construction, the challenges of integrating AI with existing machinery, and the future of the construction industry with increased automation.
Boris emphasized the importance of safety and the potential for automation to transform not just construction but also other industries such as agriculture and manufacturing.
The conversation concluded with Boris outlining Bedrock's immediate goals, including moving from supervised autonomy to fully operatorless deployments.
Learn more at: https://bedrockrobotics.com/
Cohost this week is The Robot Report’s associate editor, Brianna Wessling. She recaps her trip this week to attend the NVIDIA GTC 2026 event in San Jose Ca.
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Join us as Ed Mehr, Co-founder of Machine Labs, explains how he’s building the "software-defined factory." We dive into how robotic-powered automation and strategic partnerships are enabling manufacturers to switch product lines instantly and future-proof hardware production.

Discover how Machine Labs is transforming manufacturing with flexible, robotic-powered factories that can switch products instantly. In this episode, Ed Mehr shares insights on software-defined factories, advanced automation, and strategic partnerships shaping the future of hardware production.
Learn more at: https://machinalabs.ai/

Show timeline
0:30 - Gene Demaitre recaps Autonomation World 2026
9:43 - News of the week
26:27 - Ed Mehr, co-founder and CEO of Machina Labs
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On the show this week, our guest is Dinesh Narayanan, Head of Commercialization, General Robotics.
Dinesh shares insights into the founding of General Robotics, highlighting the transition from Microsoft and the development of their proprietary platform, Grid.
This platform aims to streamline the deployment and scaling of robotics solutions by integrating simulation, AI models, and deployment pipelines.
Dinesh emphasizes the importance of adaptability in AI techniques and the company's focus on providing rapid prototyping and deployment capabilities.
The conversation also touched on the potential of humanoid robots and the role of Grid in facilitating their development.
Dinesh concludes by discussing the company's business model and future aspirations, drawing parallels to the impact of platforms like AWS and Azure in the tech industry.
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On the show this week, our guests are Andrew Singletary, CEO, and Amir Sharif, COO of 3Laws. They discuss the evolution of the 3Laws technology from academic research to practical applications, the challenges of startup leadership, and the importance of integrating safety into the design process.
The conversation highlights the innovative approaches 3Laws is taking to democratize autonomy and ensure safety in robotics, emphasizing the need for deterministic safety systems in an increasingly AI-driven world.
We also learn the differences between their products, Supervisor Pro and Supervisor for ROS, and how these solutions cater to different market needs.
The discussion highlights the significance of customization in safety solutions, the role of safety certification, and the potential for making robotics more accessible to smaller companies.
Ultimately, the conversation emphasizes the ongoing evolution of robotics and the importance of safety innovations in this field.
To learn more about 3Laws: https://3laws.io/
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Download the 2026 State of the Robotics Industry Report: https://www.therobotreport.com/state-of-robotics-industry-report-2026/