# Kinisi Robotics on the potential of wheeled humanoids

- Show: [The Robot Report Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast)
- Published: 2024-09-20
- Length: 49m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-09-20-kinisi-robotics-on-the-potential-of-wheeled-humanoids
- Listen: https://soundcloud.com/robot-report-podcast/kinisi-robotics-on-the-potential-of-wheeled-humanoids

## Summary

Bren Pierce, CEO and founder of Kinisi Robotics and former co-founder of Bear Robotics, discusses his new venture building a wheeled humanoid robot platform for warehousing and service applications. Pierce explains why he chose a wheeled base over legs to reduce cost and complexity, allowing Kinisi to focus on mobile manipulation rather than locomotion. He details his strategy of using off-the-shelf components and leveraging large language models for task logic, while cautioning against the premature pursuit of general-purpose humanoid robots by startups.

## Chapters

- [0:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-09-20-kinisi-robotics-on-the-potential-of-wheeled-humanoids#t=10) Introduction and Robotics News
- [15:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-09-20-kinisi-robotics-on-the-potential-of-wheeled-humanoids#t=927) Bren Pierce's Background and Bear Robotics
- [19:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-09-20-kinisi-robotics-on-the-potential-of-wheeled-humanoids#t=1153) Scaling Challenges and Product-Market Fit
- [26:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-09-20-kinisi-robotics-on-the-potential-of-wheeled-humanoids#t=1602) Kinisi Robotics: Platform and Applications
- [36:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-09-20-kinisi-robotics-on-the-potential-of-wheeled-humanoids#t=2214) Wheeled vs. Legged Humanoids: Cost and Complexity
- [42:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-09-20-kinisi-robotics-on-the-potential-of-wheeled-humanoids#t=2553) AI Strategy: Foundation Models vs. Classical Control

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch

## Mentioned

- Kinisi Robotics (company)
- Bear Robotics (company)
- Pudu Robotics (company)
- Inbolt (company)
- Mach 9 Robotics (company)
- Skydio (company)
- Siemens (company)
- Pterodactyl Robotics (company)
- Universal Robots (company)
- NVIDIA (company)
- OpenAI (company)
- Tesla (company)
- Dyson (company)
- Magic Leap (company)
- Intel RealSense (product)
- TurtleBot (product)
- PR2 (product)
- MoveIt (tool)
- ROS (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [203: Humanoid Robots: Industrial Applications, Safety, and Going Beyond the Hype to Solve Real Problems Featuring Agility Robotics' Melonee Wise](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-09-17-203-humanoid-robots-industrial-applications-safety-and-going-beyond-the-hype-to) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [Ep. 20 | Dr. Aaron Edsinger, CEO & Co-founder of Hello Robot and Former Head of Robotics at Google on Humanity in Robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-03-18-ep-20-dr-aaron-edsinger-ceo-co-founder-of-hello-robot-and-former-head-of-robotic) (Moore's Lobby)
- [191: The State of Robotics: Live From the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston, MA](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2024-06-25-191-the-state-of-robotics-live-from-the-2024-robotics-summit-expo-in-boston-ma) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [Episode 163: Robots helping people - Aaron Edsinger](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-09-25-episode-163-robots-helping-people-aaron-edsinger) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode Three - Robot Locomotion: getting moving](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2020-11-27-episode-three-robot-locomotion-getting-moving) (Robot Talk)

## Citing this page

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