ROS Goss

Robots can see the world better than ever, yet they still fumble at the exact moment that matters most: contact. When a gripper touches a box, a tool, or a product, vision can’t tell you if it’s slipping, if you’re crushing it, or if the real-world friction just changed. That’s where tactile sensing steps in and why today’s guest is building a category that feels overdue.

We’re joined by Heba Khamis, co-founder and CEO of Contactile, visiting MassRobotics in Boston, to walk through tactile sensors built for robotic manipulation, humanoid fingertips, and grippers that need real time feedback. Heba shares the human tactile neurophysiology insight that started it all, then we get hands on with sensors that measure 3D force and shear, plus more advanced arrays that can estimate slip, friction, and torque. The highlight is an adaptive gripper demo that computes slip onboard and outputs a target grip force for slip prevention, so you get “just enough” grip without fine tuning.

We also talk about the real deployment pain: wet cardboard boxes, damaged packaging, unknown weights in opaque containers, and why tactile data matters for quality control, process monitoring, and reliable placing instead of “pick and drop.” Then we talk about the tactile data problem, the sim-to-real gap in physical AI, and why investors should think about robotics supply chain components, not only full stack humanoid robots.

If you’re building automation for warehouses, manufacturing, logistics, machine tending, or humanoid robotics and want to increase their capabilities with sensing, this one is for you. 

In this episode of ROS Goss, two industry veterans, Pete Allen and Guy Courtin, go head to head on some of the most contested topics. Does a warehouse robot need legs? What is actually selling versus what is just hype? How is physical AI changing the software stack? 

Pete and Guy discuss what’s real and what’s overhyped in warehouse robotics, from humanoid robots to “physical AI” and the next wave of automation. We also get practical about how end users should evaluate risk, ROI, and change management before they buy anything.

If you care about warehouse robotics, AMRs, ASRS, WMS and WES strategy, physical AI claims, and what automation will look like by 2027, this conversation is built to sharpen your thinking. 

Bold predictions, hot topics, and differing viewpoints. Shots fired, indeed.

Almost everyone selling, marketing, or hiring into robotics today came from somewhere else, and the industry is moving too fast to fake your way through it. So we sat down with one of the most trusted voices in the space to talk about how outsiders can actually get up to speed.

Eugene Demaitre is the Editorial Director of Robotics at WTWH Media, where he oversees editorial across The Robot Report and Automated Warehouse websites. He helps run the Robotics Summit & Expo and RoboBusiness events. Gene has attended robotics events and visited deployments worldwide, and he has spoken with many of the top experts to learn where the real signal lives.

We get into the map of the industry, the trade groups that matter, the vocabulary that gives people away, and the disconnect between what vendors talk about and what buyers actually care about. Eugene shares which publications and voices he would point a newcomer to, which events earn the travel budget, and what separates the people who build real fluency from the ones who stay stuck at surface level.

If you are new to robotics, leading people who are, or trying to sell into the space without sounding like a tourist, this one is worth your time.

If you've opened LinkedIn recently, you already know. Layoffs, restructures, familiar faces back on the market. So instead of scrolling past it, we decided to actually talk about it.

Josh Olgin, Managing Partner and Director of Robotics at Direct Recruiters, has spent 14 years inside the robotics and automation job market. He knows what's happening, why it's happening, and where things are quietly turning around.

We get into the real drivers behind today's uncertainty: post-COVID overhiring, the warehouse automation slowdown, and how a few big players pulling back creates ripple effects across the whole industry.

Then we get to what actually matters if you're in the market. Josh breaks down the roles seeing real demand right now, where integrators and OEMs are still hiring, and how to work the search smarter. We also get into realistic timelines, what a recruiter relationship actually gets you, and why proof beats buzzwords on every resume.

If you're hiring, exploring options, or trying to land on your feet after a layoff, this one is worth your time.

Growth doesn't start with a playbook. It starts with people doing hard work together. Anthony Leo, President of IPR Robotics USA, joins us to unpack what it really takes to build a high-trust organization that wins on clarity, speed, and genuine problem solving.

Anthony walks us through the mechanics of a frictionless buying experience: getting engineers the specs they need upfront, knowing when to slow down and dig deeper, and designing processes that eliminate costly mistakes before they happen. He also gets candid about leadership, hiring for trust, giving people a clear sandbox to operate in, and why stepping back is often the most powerful thing a leader can do.

Whether you're in sales, building a team culture, or navigating the realities of selling robotics to integrators and OEMs, this episode is packed with frameworks you can put to work immediately.

Imagine needing another person’s hand just to check the weather, news, or even to listen to a podcast. That’s the everyday reality for many DeafBlind people and the starting point for Samantha Johnson’s bold solution: a soft robotic hand that fingerspells tactile sign language and turns digital text into language you can feel.

We sit down with Samantha to trace the journey from a Northeastern University ASL course to founding Tatum Robotics, a social impact startup bringing assistive devices into real homes. She explains how her team engineered an 18-DOF hand that is both precise and gentle, and why co-designing with DeafBlind users consistently beats feature creep. We are also joined by Jaimi Lard of Tatum Q&A for a live demo of the device and firsthand user feedback.

If you care about accessibility, human-centered design, and robotics for good, this conversation will recalibrate what meaningful inclusion looks like. 

2025. Well, that was really something.

From AI hype cycles to real-world deployments, from pilot purgatory to systems that actually shipped, 2025 gave the robotics and automation industry plenty to talk about.

Join Mandy Dwight, Forest Lee, and Catherine O’Connor for a year-end ROS Goss recap as they break down the trends that truly shaped the industry this year. What moved the needle, what fell flat, and what lessons founders, operators, and marketers are carrying into the next chapter.

And what’s on deck for 2026? We asked some of the smartest voices in the industry to weigh in. Expect predictions, hot takes, and hard-earned insights from Jeff Burnstein of A3, Greg Baer of MHI, Guy Courtin of Tecsys, Matt Bush of KPI, Brent Barcey of DWFritz Automation, and Gemma Ross of OSARO on where robotics and automation are headed next.

Add in a few holiday sweaters, a Boston backdrop, and some honest industry talk, and you have a fitting send-off to 2025 and a sneak peak at what is coming in 2026.

Every automation company claims to be different. Few can prove it in 10 seconds. In this episode, Daniel Castro Maia, Forest Lee, and Mandy Dwight break down how to stand out in a crowded robotics market through clear storytelling, purposeful design, and adaptive strategy.

This episode breaks down brand as a system and shows how storytelling turns complex specs into real outcomes. The discussion covers how design guides decisions, how value should appear in your website and UX, and how messaging changes by audience. End users want proof of throughput and integration, while investors look for momentum.

The team then gets tactical with a real multi-channel approach for automation. They explain why LinkedIn alone is not a strategy and how paid search, trade show geo-targeting, retargeting, and education-first content build trust. They highlight the need for agility, A/B testing, and budgeting based on real signals. They also touch on the limits of part-time marketing and the value of outside partners when internal teams are stretched.

If you build something great and tell a true story about how it changes work, demand rises and sales cycles shorten. This episode shows you how to cut the noise and drive meaningful growth.

Hello U.S. – Meet RobCo!

We sat down with Lorenzo Pautasso at RobCo’s new U.S. HQ to talk about a different way forward: modular robots that click together, software that just works, and a service model that shares risk instead of pushing it onto small and mid-sized manufacturers. 

From a university research project in Munich to a U.S. launch backed by top-tier investors, we follow RobCo’s path from concept to commercialization. We also tackle the “jobs question” head-on, sharing stories from the factory floor that show how robots aren’t replacing people – they’re taking on the repetitive and risky tasks so workers can focus on higher-value work. Finally, we explore lessons about automation and deployments that can be learned by Europe’s early adoption mindset.

Tune in to hear the full conversation and see why RobCo’s story is one to watch in the next wave of industrial automation.