# Nic Radford on developing underwater robots; Celebrating 100 episodes

- Show: [The Robot Report Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast)
- Published: 2022-12-01
- Length: 1h 37m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes
- Listen: https://soundcloud.com/robot-report-podcast/nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=7) Introduction: 100th Episode Celebration and Stats
- [2:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=138) Top Episodes and Industry Commentary
- [13:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=810) San Francisco Police Robot Policy Debate
- [33:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=1985) Locust Robotics Funding and AMR News
- [40:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=2422) Nic Radford and Nauticus Robotics Origin
- [52:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=3160) Space vs. Ocean Environments and Aquanaut Design
- [1:14:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=4465) Acoustic Communication and Delay-Tolerant Networking
- [1:19:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=4768) Robots-as-a-Service Business Model
- [1:28:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2022-12-01-nic-radford-on-developing-underwater-robots-celebrating-100-episodes#t=5333) Government Contracts and Commercial Strategy

## Topics

- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Wireless & RF](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/wireless-and-rf)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Nauticus Robotics (company)
- Aquanut (product)
- Hydronaut (product)
- Robonaut 2 (product)
- NASA (company)
- Locust Robotics (company)
- Boston Dynamics (company)
- Slumberjet (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Episode 99: Robots mapping the deep ocean - Joe Wolfel](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-11-22-episode-99-robots-mapping-the-deep-ocean-joe-wolfel) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode Twenty-One: Sean Katagiri](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-14-episode-twenty-one-sean-katagiri) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode Twenty-Nine: Sina Sareh](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-12-09-episode-twenty-nine-sina-sareh) (Robot Talk)
- [282: Tin Can Through a Wet Noodle](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-03-21-282-tin-can-through-a-wet-noodle) (Embedded.fm)
- [363: Squishy Nature](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-02-26-363-squishy-nature) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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