Hardware Podcasts

Barrett Ames (CTO / REK)

Just Gonna Send It · 27 May 2026 · 55m · Episode 16

What this episode covers

Barrett Ames, CTO of REK and former NASA researcher, discusses his journey from building pirate-deterrent drones to working on the Valkyrie and Robonaut 2 projects, and his current work with REK, a humanoid robot fighting league. He explains how his experience at Bot Built, which focused on automating home construction, led to the realization that competition and destruction accelerate robotics innovation. Ames details the psychological appeal of robot combat, inspired by the movie Real Steel, and the technical challenges of sourcing parts and building durable humanoids for entertainment. The conversation covers his educational background at Cornell and Duke, his time at NASA, and the strategic decisions behind launching REK to seed the humanoid market.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
REK, Bot Built, NASA, Y Combinator, benchmark.io
Products
Valkyrie, Robonaut 2, Real Steel
Also
Cornell, Duke

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