# An Interview with Gerry Roston

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2017-02-04
- Length: 1h 19m
- Episode: 334
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-02-04-an-interview-with-gerry-roston
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/334-an-interview-with-gerry-roston/

## Summary

Gerry Roston, CEO of Savionics and Executive in Residence at TechTown Detroit, discusses his career from JPL robotics to industrial IoT. He details building the 'Robbie' prototype for the Mars Sojourner rover, using PDP-11 and VAX computers, and later autonomous vehicles at CMU. At Savionics, he explains deploying wireless sensor nodes to monitor stamping machines, avoiding PLC integration to mitigate security risks, and using customer discovery to pivot from energy monitoring to predictive maintenance.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-02-04-an-interview-with-gerry-roston#t=0) Introduction: Gerry Roston, Savionics, and TechTown Detroit
- [1:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-02-04-an-interview-with-gerry-roston#t=116) JPL Robotics: Master's Thesis, Puma 560, and Neurosurgery
- [14:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-02-04-an-interview-with-gerry-roston#t=873) Mars Sojourner: Robbie Prototype, VAX, and Wind River VXWorks
- [20:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-02-04-an-interview-with-gerry-roston#t=1258) CMU Field Robotics Center: NavLab, GPS, and Autonomous Driving
- [46:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-02-04-an-interview-with-gerry-roston#t=2785) Savionics: Industrial IoT, Sensor Nodes, and Stamping Machine Monitoring
- [58:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-02-04-an-interview-with-gerry-roston#t=3487) TechTown Detroit: Incubator, Blocks Group, and Startup Methodology
- [1:07:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-02-04-an-interview-with-gerry-roston#t=4075) Customer Discovery: Pivoting from Energy Monitoring to Predictive Maintenance

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Wireless & RF](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/wireless-and-rf)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Savionics (company)
- TechTown Detroit (company)
- Jet Propulsion Lab (company)
- Puma 560 (product)
- PDP-11 (chip)
- VAX (chip)
- Wind River Systems (company)
- VXWorks (other)
- Carnegie Mellon University (company)
- NavLab (product)
- Zigbee (other)
- 3G (other)
- Wi-Fi (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Industrial IoT and Connectivity | Simply Embedded's Chris Karaplis | Internet of Things Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/iot-for-all-podcast/2025-11-11-industrial-iot-and-connectivity-simply-embeddeds-chris-karaplis-internet-of-thin) (IoT For All Podcast)
- [Brian Gerkey from Open Robotics discusses the development of ROS](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-07-01-brian-gerkey-from-open-robotics-discusses-the-development-of-ros) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap with Joe Carson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2019-11-25-taking-the-entrepreneurial-leap-with-joe-carson) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [Proof of Value (PoV) with Paul Glynn, CEO of Davra](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2022-08-18-proof-of-value-pov-with-paul-glynn-ceo-of-davra) (Over the Air)
- [The OG of IoT: A Chat w/ Rob Tiffany (Part 1)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/over-the-air/2022-01-04-the-og-of-iot-a-chat-w-rob-tiffany-part-1) (Over the Air)

## Citing this page

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