Hardware Podcasts

Nic Radford on developing underwater robots; Celebrating 100 episodes

The Robot Report Podcast · 1 Dec 2022 · 1h 37m

What this episode covers

Nic Radford, founder and CEO of Nauticus Robotics, discusses the development of the Aquanaut, a hybrid autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that combines the mobility of a torpedo with the manipulation capabilities of a box-shaped ROV. Leveraging his background at NASA with the Robonaut 2, Radford explains how Nauticus applies space-grade delay-tolerant networking and AI to overcome the extreme pressure and low-bandwidth challenges of the deep ocean. The company operates on a Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, deploying the Aquanaut alongside their autonomous surface vessel, Hydronaut, to perform inspection and maintenance tasks for offshore wind and oil and gas industries without the high costs of traditional tethered spreads. Radford highlights the difficulty of recruiting hardware talent and the lack of venture capital for industrial deep tech, emphasizing that their proprietary electric actuation and software-defined autonomy create a significant competitive moat.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Nauticus Robotics, NASA, Locust Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Slumberjet
Products
Aquanut, Hydronaut, Robonaut 2

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