# Four robot companies pull in $531M in funding; Interview with Photoneo CTO, Tomas Kovacovsky

- Show: [The Robot Report Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast)
- Published: 2021-09-14
- Length: 54m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-09-14-four-robot-companies-pull-in-531m-in-funding-interview-with-photoneo-cto-tomas-k
- Listen: https://soundcloud.com/robot-report-podcast/episode-54

## Summary

Hosts Steve Crow and Mike Oitsman discuss recent robotics industry news, including $531M in funding for companies like Amby Robotics and Deep Route AI, and the iRobot J7+ Roomba's new poop-avoidance algorithms. They also analyze the financial impact of a recent fire at an Ocado automated warehouse. The episode features an interview with Photoneo CTO Tomas Kovacovsky, who explains the technical advantages of their MotionCam 3D vision sensors for industrial bin picking and navigation, particularly in contrast to the discontinuation of Intel RealSense cameras.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-09-14-four-robot-companies-pull-in-531m-in-funding-interview-with-photoneo-cto-tomas-k#t=7) Introduction and Mars Rover Update
- [6:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-09-14-four-robot-companies-pull-in-531m-in-funding-interview-with-photoneo-cto-tomas-k#t=411) Robotics Funding News: Amby Robotics and Deep Route AI
- [11:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-09-14-four-robot-companies-pull-in-531m-in-funding-interview-with-photoneo-cto-tomas-k#t=714) iRobot J7+ Poop Avoidance and Sensor Challenges
- [17:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-09-14-four-robot-companies-pull-in-531m-in-funding-interview-with-photoneo-cto-tomas-k#t=1049) Interview with Photoneo CTO Tomas Kovacovsky
- [32:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-09-14-four-robot-companies-pull-in-531m-in-funding-interview-with-photoneo-cto-tomas-k#t=1945) Photoneo MotionCam Technology and Bin Picking
- [48:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-09-14-four-robot-companies-pull-in-531m-in-funding-interview-with-photoneo-cto-tomas-k#t=2889) Ocado Warehouse Fire and Industry Impact

## Topics

- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up, established companies

## Mentioned

- Photoneo (company)
- MotionCam (product)
- Intel RealSense (product)
- Amby Robotics (company)
- Deep Route AI (company)
- iRobot (company)
- Roomba J7+ (product)
- Ocado (company)
- Locust Robotics (company)
- Pudu Robotics (company)
- NASA (company)
- Perseverance Rover (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [BONUS: Leaders in Machine Vision and Robotics: Live from Boston, Pt. 1 of 2 (brought to you by A3)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-12-20-bonus-leaders-in-machine-vision-and-robotics-live-from-boston-pt-1-of-2-brought) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [BONUS: Leaders in Machine Vision and Robotics: Live from Boston, Pt. 2 of 2 (brought to you by A3)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-12-23-bonus-leaders-in-machine-vision-and-robotics-live-from-boston-pt-2-of-2-brought) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [How Next-Gen Robots Are Revolutionizing Manufacturing w/ Nan Li](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2022-02-22-how-next-gen-robots-are-revolutionizing-manufacturing-w-nan-li) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Episode 56: Intelligent warehouse robots - Guillaume Doisy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-10-06-episode-56-intelligent-warehouse-robots-guillaume-doisy) (Robot Talk)
- [223: The State of Automation Halfway Through the Decade, Live from the 2025 A3 Business Forum](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-02-11-223-the-state-of-automation-halfway-through-the-decade-live-from-the-2025-a3-bus) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-09-14-four-robot-companies-pull-in-531m-in-funding-interview-with-photoneo-cto-tomas-k. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Robot Report Podcast.