Tertill CEO Helen Greiner; Can Aurora catch Waymo?

The Robot Report Podcast · 12 Feb 2021 · 48m

What this episode covers

Helen Greiner, CEO of Tertill, discusses scaling her Boston-based gardening robotics startup, drawing on her experience co-founding iRobot and CyPhy Works. She explains how Tertill’s robot uses capacitive sensing and scrubbing wheels to prevent weeds from growing, targeting the $349 consumer market while avoiding the complexity of vision-based systems in muddy conditions. Greiner also reflects on the regulatory hurdles faced by her previous drone company, CyPhy Works, and shares her optimistic outlook on the future of drone delivery and autonomous vehicles like Aurora and Waymo.

Mentioned

Companies
iRobot, CyPhy Works, Husqvarna, Aurora, Waymo, Cruise, Toyota, Denso, Uber, Picnic Robotics, Universal Robots
Products
Tertill, Roomba

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Just Gonna Send It · 46m

    Divya Thakur (Founder, Yardbot)

    Divya Thakur, founder of Yardbot, explains how he pivoted from a failed Bitcoin startup and a career at Cruise (General Motors) to building a hybrid landscaping business in Huntsville, Alabama. He details the five generations of robot iterations, highlighting mechanical failures in drivetrains and decks, and the strategic decision to combine human crews with autonomous mowing robots rather than pursuing full automation. Thakur also discusses using LLMs for training blue-collar workers and computer vision for obstacle detection, while outlining plans to expand the model to other Sun Belt cities.

  • Robot Talk · 33m

    Episode 158: Autonomous robot deliveries - Ahti Heinla

    Ahti Heinla, co-founder and CEO of Starship Technologies, discusses the company's AI-powered autonomous delivery robots, which have completed over 10 million deliveries across dozens of cities in the UK, US, and Europe. He explains the industrial design choices that prioritize a neutral, friendly aesthetic to integrate into neighborhoods, and details the technical architecture where most safety-critical decisions are made on-board while cloud infrastructure handles long-tail routing optimization. Heinla highlights the regulatory progress in countries like Finland and Estonia, noting how forward-looking policies enabled nationwide scaling, and describes the company's transition from early prototypes to a mature, cost-efficient operation that is now optimizing for higher capacity and smoother user experiences.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 16m

    An Interview with Chris Osterwood

    Chris Osterwood, founder of Capable Robot Components, discusses his journey from Carnegie Mellon University to serving as CTO at Carnegie Robotics, where he worked on autonomous sewer inspection robots and agricultural systems. He explains the specific engineering challenges of ground robotics, such as managing weight, power, and harsh environments like sewers and cornfields. Osterwood details his new venture, which aims to provide reliable, embeddable infrastructure components like gigabit Ethernet switches and diagnostic USB hubs to solve the 'make vs. buy' dilemma for robot builders.

  • How I Built This · 40m

    When trucks drive themselves with Chris Urmson of Aurora

    Chris Urmson, founder of Aurora, discusses his journey from the DARPA Grand Challenges to leading Google's self-driving car project and finally launching Aurora to automate long-haul trucking. He explains Aurora's 'First Light' LIDAR technology, the distinction between Level 2 assistance and Level 4 autonomy, and the company's strategy of selling an autonomous driving system rather than building vehicles. Urmson outlines the safety case, regulatory engagement, and the phased rollout plan for driverless trucks on specific US freight corridors.

  • Moore's Lobby · 33m

    Ep. 20 | Dr. Aaron Edsinger, CEO & Co-founder of Hello Robot and Former Head of Robotics at Google on Humanity in Robots

    Dr. Aaron Edsinger, CEO and co-founder of Hello Robot and former Head of Robotics at Google, discusses the philosophy behind building practical, non-humanoid robots like the Stretch mobile manipulator. He contrasts the iterative, customer-feedback-driven approach of startups with the closed-door development of large corporations like Google, emphasizing the importance of simplicity and pragmatism in robotics. Edsinger also reflects on his journey from MIT’s Humanoid Robotics Group to founding Mecca Robotics, highlighting the value of strong co-founder partnerships and open-source software in scaling hardware businesses.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Robot Report Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.