Machine Minds

Factory automation has traditionally been expensive, fragmented, and heavily dependent on specialized system integrators. Vention is challenging that model by turning automation into something closer to a software platform, where manufacturers can design, simulate, program, order, deploy, and operate industrial equipment within a connected digital ecosystem.

Etienne Lacroix, founder and CEO of Vention, joins Greg to share how his early experience as a teenage system integrator exposed him to the inefficiencies of traditional automation and ultimately inspired a different approach. From modular hardware and browser-based 3D design to software-defined controls and physical AI, Etienne has spent the last decade building a platform designed to dramatically reduce the time, cost, and engineering complexity required to automate a factory.

In this conversation, Greg and Etienne explore:

• How Etienne went from designing machines and selling automation cells at 19 to identifying the fundamental problems behind traditional system integration
• Why approximately 40% of traditional automation costs can come from engineering and integration, and how a platform-based approach can dramatically reduce that burden
• The technological breakthrough that made Vention possible: bringing engineering-grade 3D design into the web browser and connecting design directly with purchasing and deployment
• Etienne’s simple mental model for Vention: combining 3D design software, industrial Lego, and Amazon Prime into one automation ecosystem
• How Vention connects machine specification, 3D design, programming, simulation, ordering, deployment, monitoring, and support within a single digital workflow
• Why reducing integration complexity can make automation accessible to mid-market manufacturers that historically could not justify the economics
• How Vention customers are achieving automation payback periods averaging around 1.3 years, while cutting deployment timelines by three to six times in some cases
• Why a new generation of manufacturers, particularly in defense, could be a leading indicator for the future factory, with engineers bringing Python, AI, and modern software practices directly onto the shop floor
• What software-defined automation really means, and how separating hardware installation from programming could fundamentally change the role of system integrators
• Why Etienne believes the industry is already moving beyond software-defined automation toward AI-defined automation
• How Vention’s MachineMotion AI controller, built with NVIDIA technology, is becoming the bridge between cloud-based digital twins and physical machines on the factory floor
• A real-world example of a complex 300-motor conveyor system that was largely vibe-coded and programmed in roughly three weeks instead of several months
• Where physical AI is genuinely production-ready today, including perception, pose estimation, segmentation, and collision-free path planning, and where generalized vision-language-action models still fall short
• Why application-specific field data and teleoperation data may matter more than the underlying foundation model when bringing physical AI into industrial environments
• Vention’s practical approach to AI validation, including letting manufacturers send in their own parts and proving cycle time and reliability before deeper commercial discussions
• The hidden challenge of industrial robotics: no matter how sophisticated the simulation becomes, real-world physics will always introduce edge cases engineers did not anticipate
• Why Vention partners with established robot manufacturers such as Universal Robots and FANUC rather than building robot arms itself, choosing instead to focus on the deployment platform surrounding them
• How Vention is gradually opening its ecosystem through developer tools while maintaining enough control to preserve a fast, seamless user experience
• Why manufacturing is becoming attractive again to top software, robotics, and AI talent as technology makes the industry increasingly scalable
• The performance culture inside Vention, and how transparency, meaningful work, and professional development help the company grow engineers into future business leaders

Etienne also shares his long-term ambition for Vention: having already helped shift automation from a system integrator-led model toward a platform-based one, the next challenge is building a company that permanently changes how factories around the world automate.

Learn more about Vention: https://vention.com/

Connect with Etienne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/etiennelacroix/

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

What happens when a robot is no longer built for one fixed task, but can potentially be retasked through software to do thousands of different things?

Brian Ringley, HRI Designer at Boston Dynamics, joins Greg for the 150th episode of Machine Minds to explore that question through the evolution of Spot, Atlas, and the software systems that connect increasingly capable robots to the people and environments around them.

Brian’s path into robotics is anything but conventional. After starting in architecture, CNC machining, industrial robotic arms, computational design, and construction technology, he found himself working at the intersection of digital models and physical automation. That journey eventually brought him to Boston Dynamics, first to explore construction applications for Spot, then into product management and industrial inspection, and now into human-robot interaction design for Atlas.

In this conversation, Greg and Brian explore:

• How Brian’s background in architecture, digital fabrication, CNC machining, and industrial robot programming shaped the way he thinks about human-machine collaboration
• Why construction became an early proving ground for Spot, from reality capture and laser scanning to safety monitoring and project progress tracking
• The critical shift from thinking of “the robot as the product” to treating the robot as an invisible physical layer that creates value through the work it enables
• Why collecting more data is not enough, and how vision-language models and generative interfaces could let operators effectively “have a conversation” with factories and construction sites
• The enormous HRI challenge behind Atlas: designing an interaction model for a robot whose potential capabilities are effectively unbounded
• How reinforcement learning, behavior cloning, vision-language-action models, reasoning systems, and traditional software tools can work together across the Atlas autonomy stack
• Why Brian sees the real promise of humanoids as an economic breakthrough: one hardware platform that can be retasked through software instead of requiring new machines for every application
• Why general-purpose hardware also demands generalizable software interfaces, rather than building a completely new application every time the robot learns a new task
• How Boston Dynamics balances natural human-like movement with Atlas’s superhuman range of motion, while deliberately designing it as an industrial tool rather than a human imitation
• Why great hardware still matters in the age of physical AI, from reliability and field serviceability to strength-to-weight ratios, range of motion, manufacturability, and uptime
• What the Google DeepMind partnership brings to Atlas, and why frontier reasoning models and high-quality robotic hardware can accelerate each other
• Brian’s vision for the software-defined factory, where humanoids work alongside AMRs, fixed automation, inspection robots, digital twins, and other specialized machines rather than replacing them
• Why teleoperation will remain valuable even as autonomy improves, especially in nuclear facilities, underground mines, collapsed buildings, launch sites, and other environments that are unsafe for people

Brian also shares why robotics consistently gets overestimated in the short term and underestimated in the long term. Building systems that can understand natural instructions, reason about unfamiliar situations, manipulate the physical world, and operate reliably at scale remains extraordinarily difficult. But that difficulty is also part of what makes the field so compelling.

For anyone working in robotics, industrial automation, human-robot interaction, or physical AI, this conversation offers a grounded look at what it will really take to move humanoids from impressive demonstrations to flexible, useful tools embedded throughout the physical world.

Learn more about Boston Dynamics: https://bostondynamics.com/

Boston Dynamics’ Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/BostonDynamics

Connect with Brian Ringley on LinkedIn:

• Linktree: https://linktr.ee/brianringley
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bringley/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/brianringley

Connect with Greg Toroosian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

From remote drone operations and public safety to hardware-agnostic robotics platforms, VOTIX is building the software layer designed to help organizations coordinate increasingly complex autonomous systems.

Edwin Sanchez, founder and CEO of VOTIX, joins Greg to unpack the journey from a simple idea inspired by archaeology and remote tourism to an enterprise platform now supporting drone operations across 16 countries. Drawing on more than two decades in IT, digital transformation, and enterprise software, Edwin shares why great technology alone is never enough, and why timing, resilience, regulation, service, and market fit are just as critical to building a lasting hard tech company.

The conversation explores how VOTIX acts as a kind of operating system for drone ecosystems, connecting different hardware, workflows, data sources, and third-party systems through one unified platform. Edwin also explains why public safety has become such an important use case, including how drone-first response programs can dramatically reduce emergency response times without requiring agencies to add more personnel.

In this conversation, Greg and Edwin explore:

• How Edwin’s childhood in Colombia shaped his resilience, entrepreneurial mindset, and willingness to challenge difficult circumstances
• The early fascination with computer viruses and self-replicating software that sparked his interest in how software interacts with machines
• Lessons from more than 20 years in enterprise IT and digital transformation, including time working with companies like Microsoft, Oracle, and Adobe
• Why strong engineering needs to be paired with service, market timing, sales, marketing, and a founder willing to adapt
• The unlikely origin of VOTIX, from watching a live camera pointed at the pyramids to imagining remotely operated FPV drones anywhere in the world
• Why the original remote tourism concept was ahead of the market, and how customer feedback pushed VOTIX toward industrial, commercial, and public safety applications
• How VOTIX became hardware agnostic, allowing organizations to operate different drones and robotic systems through a common software layer
• Edwin’s analogy of VOTIX as a symphony conductor, coordinating every component of a complex drone workflow so the system performs as one
• The common operational building blocks across construction, mining, oil and gas, security, military, and public safety drone programs
• Why public safety agencies are turning to drones as staffing challenges, shrinking budgets, and growing cities make traditional response models harder to sustain
• How one police department reduced response visibility for priority emergencies from roughly 15 minutes to about 90 seconds using drone-based response
• The launch of VOTIX Situational Rooms, which brings drones, body cameras, mapping, audio, chat, and other data sources into a single source of truth for faster decision making
• Why the VOTIX vision extends beyond aerial drones to ground robots, robotic dogs, rovers, boats, submarines, and eventually humanoids
• How integrations with airspace, weather, and traffic management systems help organizations safely execute more complex drone operations
• The tension between public safety and privacy, and how software controls, audit logs, restricted camera movements, transparent feeds, and community education can help build public trust
• Edwin’s approach to hiring senior technical talent, maintaining a culture comfortable with constant change, and making difficult personnel decisions quickly
• Why VOTIX is increasingly looking for leaders with a global mindset as the company expands across enterprise and government markets
• Why Edwin believes “autonomous” is one of the most overhyped terms in the drone industry today
• The hardest lesson from building VOTIX: regulation, public perception, and forces outside a founder’s control can shape commercialization timelines far more than expected

For anyone building robotics infrastructure, deploying drone fleets, working in public safety, or trying to understand what it takes to turn emerging hardware into scalable enterprise systems, this conversation offers a practical look at the software, people, and operating models behind the next generation of autonomous operations.

Connect with Edwin on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwinysanchez/

Learn more about VOTIX:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/votix/
• VOTIX Website: www.votix.com
• Instagram: @votixgobeyond
• Facebook: @Votix
• Additional Resources:
  • Understanding the Role of Software Under Part 108 and Part 146
  • The Importance of Technological Diversity in DFR Operations
  • Unlocking Drone Autonomy
  • Exploring the Challenges of Transitioning from Legacy to Autonomy in Drone Operations

Connect with Greg on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

What if AI could help humans and wildlife coexist by understanding how animals communicate instead of simply trying to scare them away?

In this episode of Machine Minds, Greg sits down with Sára Nožková, CEO and co-founder of Flox Intelligence, to explore how artificial intelligence, edge computing, and wildlife science are coming together to reduce collisions between animals and critical infrastructure. From airports and railways to farms and highways, Flox is building technology that listens to, learns from, and responds to wildlife in ways that improve safety for both humans and animals.

Sára shares her journey from transportation research at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm to founding a company that is pioneering what she calls "wildlife intelligence." She explains how years of AI research evolved into a platform capable of identifying animal behavior, interpreting species-specific communication, and guiding wildlife away from danger without relying on harmful or outdated deterrent methods.

In this conversation, Greg and Sára explore:

• How a background in transportation and infrastructure led Sára to build one of the world's first AI platforms focused on wildlife communication
• Why traditional wildlife deterrents like pyrotechnics, fences, and gunshots often fail, and what a more intelligent approach looks like
• How Flox Edge devices combine computer vision, bioacoustics, and generative AI to detect, identify, and respond to more than 27 wildlife species
• The concept of the "Wildlife Brain" and how AI learns regional behaviors, dialects, and species-specific responses over time
• The engineering challenges of deploying autonomous AI hardware in some of the harshest environments on Earth, from Arctic winters to Texas summers
• Real-world deployments protecting airports, railways, farms, livestock, and transportation networks across Europe and North America
• Why partnerships with organizations like WWF, Alstom, and transportation authorities are helping validate an entirely new category of wildlife technology
• Lessons from scaling a deep tech startup across two continents, raising capital, expanding into the U.S., and building a mission-driven team
• Why understanding animal communication could fundamentally change how humans coexist with wildlife in an increasingly developed world

Whether you're building AI at the edge, deploying robotics in challenging environments, or simply fascinated by how technology can solve problems beyond the factory floor, this episode offers a fascinating look at one of the most unexpected applications of artificial intelligence today.

Learn more about Flox Intelligence: https://floxintelligence.com/

Connect with Sára Nožková on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sára-nožková-91339685/

Connect with Greg Toroosian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

Hospitals are among the most complex logistics environments in the world. Thousands of medications, meals, linens, supplies, and pieces of equipment must move through crowded buildings every day, often using manual processes, walkie-talkies, spreadsheets, and staff pushing carts between departments.

Steve Pinto, CEO of CTRL Robotics, joins Greg to explore how purpose-built robots can improve the internal movement of hospital supplies while giving healthcare workers more time to focus on patients.

Steve’s path into robotics began with entrepreneurship, augmented reality, virtual reality, and enterprise software. A project deploying service robots at South Africa’s Hotel Sky exposed him to the enormous gap between impressive robotics demonstrations and systems that can operate reliably in real environments. That experience led him and his co-founder to launch CTRL Robotics.

Today, the company is focused on building the hardware, software, digital twins, and infrastructure required to automate hospital logistics from the ground up.

In this conversation, Greg and Steve explore:

• Steve’s journey from growing up around tools and family businesses in South Africa to building AR, VR, software, and robotics companies
• How a hotel robotics deployment revealed the limitations of existing robots, integrations, APIs, and elevator control systems
• Why CTRL Robotics narrowed its focus to healthcare after working across multiple industries and global markets
• The hidden scale of hospital logistics, including the meals, medications, linens, waste, equipment, and supplies required to support hundreds or thousands of patients
• Why Steve compares a hospital to an Amazon fulfillment center with significantly more people, greater complexity, and no ability to stop operations
• The bottom-up approach to healthcare automation, focused on moving everyday items rather than developing surgical or diagnostic systems
• Why hospital corridors are well suited to mobile robots, even though most carts and equipment still need to be pushed manually
• How robots can support hospital employees rather than replace them by removing repetitive, physically demanding, and low-value tasks
• Why CTRL Robotics describes its machines as “time machines” that give skilled employees more time for meaningful work
• The “full bucket” problem that can leave patients waiting hours for medication that has already been prepared
• How robotic deliveries have reduced medication transport times from several hours to as little as seven to nine minutes
• Why restaurant and warehouse robots cannot simply be repurposed for hospitals without major changes to safety, navigation, security, and payload handling
• The challenge of navigating crowded, constantly changing hospital corridors filled with patients, beds, wheelchairs, spills, carts, and emergency activity
• How CTRL Robotics uses digital twins and elevator integrations to coordinate deliveries across multiple hospital floors
• Why dedicating certain elevators to robots could reduce waiting times and dramatically improve the movement of both people and supplies
• How private and public healthcare systems differ in their ability to evaluate and adopt new technologies
• Why labor shortages drive hospital automation in the United States, while efficiency, skills gaps, and concerns about job displacement shape adoption elsewhere
• CTRL Robotics’ effort to make deployments economically accessible, with robots operating at an estimated cost of roughly four dollars per hour
• How the company’s seed funding is supporting localized manufacturing, additive manufacturing, and a small-scale production facility in Florida
• Why Steve believes robotics companies should locate themselves close to customers, manufacturing talent, suppliers, and affordable operating infrastructure
• The advantages of Florida’s Space Coast for building physical products, extending runway, and supporting healthcare customers
• CTRL Robotics’ long-term goal of completing one million hospital deliveries every day
• Why Steve believes humanoids are currently overhyped, while narrow machines that perform one task reliably remain underappreciated
• The importance of empathy and patient-centered design when introducing robotics into healthcare environments
• Why culture fit, adaptability, commitment, and independence often matter more than credentials when hiring an early-stage robotics team
• Steve’s hardest-earned founder lesson: stop protecting the idea, accept failure quickly, and move forward with confidence

For robotics founders, healthcare leaders, and anyone interested in the infrastructure behind patient care, this conversation offers a detailed look at how reliable mobile robots could help hospitals move faster, support overstretched teams, and deliver better care.

Learn more about CTRL Robotics: https://ctrlrobotics.com/

Connect with Steve Pinto on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenpinto7/

Connect with Greg Toroosian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

Autonomous trucking has long focused on retrofitting yesterday's vehicles. Humble Robotics is taking a different path by reimagining freight from the ground up. Founder and CEO Eyal Cohen joins Greg to share why the future of logistics won't simply be autonomous trucks, but purpose-built electric freight platforms designed specifically for a world where vehicles move seamlessly from dock to dock without human intervention.

With more than two decades building breakthrough technologies across electric vehicles, autonomy, and robotics, Eyal has witnessed multiple waves of innovation from inside companies ranging from startups to Apple and Uber. Drawing on those experiences, he explains why building transformative hard tech requires more than exceptional engineering. It demands patient capital, uncompromising hiring standards, rapid iteration, and a team united by trust.

In this conversation, Greg and Eyal explore:

• Why Humble Robotics rejected traditional truck designs in favor of a purpose-built autonomous freight platform
• The vision for fully autonomous dock-to-dock freight movement and what it could mean for supply chains
• How simplicity in vehicle design unlocks improvements in cost, payload capacity, reliability, and operational efficiency
• Why freight's labor challenges are driven more by long-term workforce shortages than immediate job displacement, and how autonomy can help fill growing capacity gaps
• Lessons from two decades across electric vehicles, autonomous systems, startups, Apple, and Uber that shaped Eyal's approach to company building
• Why culture, trust, and hiring exceptional people across every function are more important than technology alone
• How Humble Robotics built its first vehicle at remarkable speed while maintaining an uncompromising commitment to safety and engineering quality
• The dangers of premature scaling in hard tech and why founders should prioritize customer feedback before optimizing for production volume
• Why patient investors like Eclipse understand the realities of commercializing hardware and supporting ambitious long-term technology bets
• Eyal's perspective on the return of "moonshot" innovation and why society should once again embrace bold, world-changing engineering challenges

Whether you're building robots, autonomous vehicles, or the next generation of industrial technology, this episode offers a thoughtful look at what it takes to turn ambitious ideas into products that can reshape the physical world, one carefully engineered step at a time.

Learn more about Humble Robotics: https://humblerobotics.ai/

Connect with Eyal Cohen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eyal-cohen-humble/

Connect with Greg Toroosian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

Scott Walbrun brings a unique perspective to venture capital. Having started his career inside the automotive industry before moving into investment banking and venture, he has spent years helping deep tech founders navigate one of the hardest challenges in robotics: turning impressive technology into repeatable, scalable businesses.

As Principal at BMW i Ventures, Scott sits at the intersection of physical AI, robotics, manufacturing, industrial software, and advanced materials. In this conversation, he joins Greg to discuss what separates great robotics companies from great robotics demos, why commercial urgency often matters more than technical perfection, and how founders can build businesses that survive the long road from prototype to widespread deployment.

Greg and Scott also explore how AI is reshaping the physical world, why venture investors are increasingly focused on real-world reliability over flashy demonstrations, and what founders should understand before raising institutional capital in today's deep tech landscape.

Highlights:

• Scott's journey from automotive finance and investment banking to becoming a venture investor focused on robotics, mobility, and deep tech
• Why so much breakthrough technology never makes it from the lab into commercial markets, and what successful founders do differently
• How BMW i Ventures evaluates Series A and B companies across physical AI, robotics, industrial software, advanced materials, and manufacturing technologies
• Why commercial validation is just as important as technical validation when building a venture-scale company
• The hidden costs of deploying robotics at scale, including maintenance, field service, reliability, and total cost of ownership
• What investors really mean when they ask about repeatability, and why one successful pilot is rarely enough
• How physical AI is moving beyond hype into real applications across manufacturing, quality inspection, warehouse automation, and enterprise operations
• The biggest mistakes robotics founders make when trying to scale too quickly
• Why founders should personally own customer development before building large sales teams
• Scott's advice for raising venture capital, building durable businesses, and maintaining the sense of urgency that separates exceptional founders from everyone else

Whether you're building robotics, industrial AI, or any capital-intensive technology company, this episode offers practical insight into what investors look for, what customers actually value, and how to bridge the gap between breakthrough innovation and lasting commercial success.

Learn more about BMW i Ventures: https://www.bmwiventures.com/

Connect with Scott Walbrun on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottwalbrun/

Connect with Greg Toroosian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

From surgical robots and autonomous underwater vehicles to humanoids and space exploration, motion control is one of the invisible technologies making modern robotics possible. Yet despite its critical role, it's often overlooked until something goes wrong.

Simone Gianotti, Application Engineer Manager at Elmo Motion Control, joins Greg to explore what it takes to deliver precision, reliability, and flexibility across some of the world's most demanding robotic applications. Drawing on a career that spans aerospace engineering, automation, sales, and technical leadership, Simone shares why successful robotics companies know when to build, when to buy, and why solving customer problems often matters more than finding the perfect engineering answer.

In this conversation, Greg and Simone explore:

• Why motion control sits at the heart of high performance robotics, from medical devices and humanoids to subsea vehicles and planetary rovers
• The common engineering challenges that appear across radically different robotic platforms, including tuning, reliability, electrical noise, and thermal management
• Why many robotics startups lose valuable time trying to build every subsystem themselves instead of focusing on their core innovation
• How products that perform perfectly in the lab can encounter unexpected problems once they reach real world deployments
• The importance of designing for safety, scalability, and future product generations from the very beginning rather than retrofitting later
• What separates exceptional application engineers, combining deep technical expertise with customer empathy and collaborative problem solving
• The robotics markets seeing the strongest momentum today, including medical robotics, subsea systems, and humanoid platforms
• How AI is changing robotics development and why many companies are shifting their focus toward building intelligent software rather than complete robotic systems
• The ongoing debate around humanoid robots versus more task specific designs, and why the industry is still discovering which approaches will ultimately win
• Simone's perspective on the future of AI powered motion control and what truly intelligent servo drives could eventually make possible

Whether you're developing next generation robotic systems, selecting components for demanding applications, or simply curious about the technology enabling modern automation, this conversation offers an insightful look inside one of robotics' most important building blocks.

Learn more about Elmo Motion Control:

• https://www.elmomc.com/
• https://www.elmomc.com/media/elmo-in-action/
• https://www.elmomc.com/media/case-studies/
• https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/article/2026/05/elmo-motion-control-talks-about-their-newest-servos/26508#new_tab
• https://www.elmomc.com/products/industrial-environment/titanium-family-industrial/
• https://www.elmomc.com/products/industrial-environment/servo-drive-platinum-family/

Connect with Simone Gianotti on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simone-gianotti-889ba427

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

Warehouse automation is entering a new phase. The challenge is no longer building individual robots. It's coordinating fleets of robots, software systems, and human workers into a seamless, intelligent operation.

Saurabh Gupta, Chief Technology Officer at GreyOrange, joins Greg to explore why orchestration is becoming the defining layer of modern warehouse automation. Drawing on a career that spans Apple, Amazon, educational robotics, healthcare, and autonomous systems, Saurabh shares lessons from helping scale technologies that bridge the gap between technical complexity and real-world usability.

From working on the first iPhone production line to leading the evolution of GreyOrange from a robotics company into a warehouse orchestration platform, Saurabh offers a unique perspective on what it takes to move robotics from impressive demos to scalable, reliable systems that deliver business value.

In this conversation, Greg and Saurabh explore:

• Lessons from Apple's product culture and why the best technology is often invisible to the user
• What working on the original iPhone taught Saurabh about vision, product design, and disruptive innovation
• How educational robotics revealed the importance of understanding human behavior before building technology
• Why the gap between a robotics demo and a real-world deployment remains one of the industry's biggest challenges
• The transition from viewing robotics as a hardware problem to understanding it as an orchestration problem
• GreyOrange's evolution from warehouse robot manufacturer to software platform coordinating robots, humans, conveyors, and automation systems
• Why vendor-agnostic orchestration is critical for the future of warehouse automation
• How AI creates practical value through exception handling, prediction, and real-time operational decision-making
• The role of data in building warehouse "world models" capable of anticipating disruptions before they happen
• Why fully autonomous warehouses may be the wrong goal and what highly orchestrated human-robot collaboration looks like instead
• Common mistakes robotics companies make when scaling products, manufacturing, and deployments
• What separates impressive engineering organizations from effective engineering organizations
• The importance of simulation-first development and testing before real-world deployment
• Why robotics founders must be crystal clear about the single problem their product solves
• Saurabh's vision for intelligent warehouse systems that can autonomously anticipate and resolve problems before humans even notice them

For anyone building robots, deploying automation, or trying to understand where AI and physical systems are headed next, this episode offers a practical look at how orchestration, intelligence, and human-centered design are shaping the future of warehouse operations.

Saurabh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saurabhgupta6/

GreyOrange LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gogreyorange/

GreyOrange website: https://www.greyorange.com/

GreyMatter - GreyOrange's warehouse solution: https://www.greyorange.com/greymatter/

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

Humanoid robots are moving beyond flashy demos and into some of the hardest environments on Earth: shipyards, energy sites, manufacturing floors, construction projects, and other industrial settings where skilled labor is scarce and the work is often dangerous, physically demanding, and difficult to automate.

Greg sits down with Jide Akinyode, co-founder and COO of Persona AI, to unpack what it really takes to build humanoids for heavy industry. Jide traces his path from NASA Johnson Space Center, where he started at 19 and spent a decade working on advanced dexterity, robotic astronauts, humanoids, and mobile manipulators, to Nauticus Robotics, where he helped bring robotic manipulation into harsh subsea environments.

Now at Persona AI, Jide is focused on building industrial humanoids that can do real work in places where traditional automation struggles. The conversation explores why shipbuilding is such a compelling first market, why the humanoid form factor matters in cluttered human-built environments, and what robotics companies often underestimate about deployment, maintenance, workflow integration, and customer adoption.

Highlights:

• Jide’s path from NASA Johnson Space Center to Nauticus Robotics, and how building robots for space and subsea environments shaped his view of commercial robotics.
• What changed in 2024 that shifted him from humanoid skeptic to founder, including stronger component supply chains, better simulation tools, reinforcement learning, behavior mimicry, and embodied AI.
• Why Persona AI is starting with heavy industries like shipbuilding, energy, construction, and manufacturing rather than homes, offices, or retail environments.
• The labor gap in skilled trades, including welders, grinders, painters, and fabricators, and why Persona sees humanoids as an alternative labor solution for industrial operators.
• Why humanoids do not need to look human, but do need the mobility, dexterity, and flexibility to work in spaces designed around human bodies and hands.
• What shipyards reveal about automation: tight spaces, massive structures, fragmented workflows, and the surprising reality that welders may spend only a small portion of their day actually welding.
• The challenge of moving from impressive demos to industrial deployments, including transparency with customers, realistic POCs, expectation management, and proving reliability over time.
• How Persona evaluates first deployments by looking at robot density, task value, customer readiness, cost of the current workflow, and the likelihood of real adoption.
• Why the challenge is not just hardware or autonomy, but the entire stack: mechanical design, embedded systems, controls, perception, autonomy, fleet management, manufacturing, operations, and customer workflow integration.
• What a successful early deployment could look like, from rugged robots surviving shipyard environments to reliably laying down welds in small and medium block assembly.
• The breadth of talent required to build humanoids, from actuation, structures, mechanisms, embedded software, controls, manipulation, locomotion, perception, autonomy, data collection, ML, manufacturing, supply chain, and operations.
• Why ML, autonomy, manipulation, and grasping talent are especially hard to find in today’s robotics market.
• How Jide thinks about culture, communication, and company building as COO, including why his “product” is now the team, the operating system, and the way Persona scales.
• The future Jide wants to see: humans moved away from dangerous physical work and upskilled into robot operators, fleet managers, and technical supervisors.
• Jide’s advice for anyone building robotics that changes the physical world: talk to customers, listen deeply, strip away assumptions, and get ready for hard work.

For anyone building robots, hiring robotics teams, or trying to understand where humanoids will actually create economic value, this conversation offers a grounded look at the long road from demo videos to real industrial deployment.

Learn more about Persona AI:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/persona-humanoids-at-work/posts/?feedView=all
• X / Twitter: https://x.com/personaaiinc
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/persona_ai_official/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@persona_ai_inc

Connect with Jide Akinyode on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jideakinyode/

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/