# S6E40 Matt Puchalski | Vision Inspection, Autonomous Vehicles, & Graduating Y Combinator

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2025-10-03
- Length: 49m
- Episode: 40
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat

## Summary

Matt Puchalski, founder and CEO of Bucket Robotics, explains how his Y Combinator-backed startup uses synthetic data generated from STEP files to automate visual inspection in manufacturing, bypassing the need for physical 'golden samples.' He contrasts this approach with legacy systems from Keyence and Cognex, highlighting how starting from CAD models allows for rapid simulation of good and bad parts. Puchalski also shares his background in autonomous vehicles at Argo AI and Latitude AI, discussing the unique reliability challenges of deploying Level 4 AVs and how those lessons inform his current work in flexible manufacturing.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat#t=0) Introduction: Matt Puchalski and Bucket Robotics
- [1:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat#t=108) Matt's Background: Engineering, Latin, and Georgia Tech
- [4:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat#t=295) Bucket Robotics: Synthetic Data from STEP Files
- [11:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat#t=686) Y Combinator: Application Strategy and Customer Discovery
- [21:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat#t=1311) Technical Challenges: Competing with Keyence and Hardware Agnosticism
- [26:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat#t=1605) Autonomous Vehicle Reliability: Iguanas and Apple Watches
- [31:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat#t=1877) Leadership and Culture: Empathy and Sweeping Floors
- [35:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-10-03-s6e40-matt-puchalski-vision-inspection-autonomous-vehicles-graduating-y-combinat#t=2131) Future of Robotics: Edge Compute and Sensor Fusion

## Topics

- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Bucket Robotics (company)
- Argo AI (company)
- Latitude AI (company)
- Stack AV (company)
- Keyence (company)
- Cognex (company)
- Y Combinator (other)
- Nvidia (company)
- Intel RealSense (product)
- STEP file (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [The Future of Automated Vision Inspection](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-10-25-the-future-of-automated-vision-inspection) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Ep. 22 | Cruise's Sr. VP of Engineering, Mo ElShenawy, on Developing Autonomous Vehicles](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-04-15-ep-22-cruises-sr-vp-of-engineering-mo-elshenawy-on-developing-autonomous-vehicle) (Moore's Lobby)
- [Episode 81: Vision for self-driving cars - Vassia Simaiaki](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-04-19-episode-81-vision-for-self-driving-cars-vassia-simaiaki) (Robot Talk)
- [Moving From Generative to Physical AI on the Manufacturing Floor w/ Etienne Lacroix](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-05-12-moving-from-generative-to-physical-ai-on-the-manufacturing-floor-w-etienne-lacro) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [The EMS (Eric Miscoll Show) - Is Inspection Leading the AI Revolution in Manufacturing?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2025-02-25-the-ems-eric-miscoll-show-is-inspection-leading-the-ai-revolution-in-manufacturi) (EMS@C-LEVEL)

## Citing this page

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