Hardware Podcasts

The startup journey, from prototype to production

The Robot Report Podcast · 22 Aug 2025 · 1h 16m

What this episode covers

Bren Pierce, CEO and founder of Kinisi Robotics and former CEO of Bear Robotics, discusses the transition from prototype to production for his wheeled humanoid robot, the KR1. He explains why he chose a wheeled base over bipedal legs to manage costs and complexity, leveraging off-the-shelf components like motors and cameras to accelerate development. Pierce details the challenges of deploying AI in warehouses, including the need for onboard compute due to poor connectivity and the difficulty of collecting customer data for training without violating privacy. He also outlines his strategy for scaling production, targeting 1,000 units to unlock manufacturing discounts, and his preference for selling hardware with software licenses rather than using a Robotics-as-a-Service model.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Kinisi Robotics, Bear Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Field AI, Figure, Unitree, Galbot, NVIDIA, SoftBank Robotics, Universal Robots, Coca-Cola, Hyundai
Products
KR1, Atlas
Chips
Jetson

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Hardware Story · 1h 41m

    Ep 4- The Hardware Story of Ati Motors | Autonomous Robots for Material movement in Factories

    Saurabh Chandra, Co-Founder and CEO of Ati Motors, explains how he transitioned from a software product management background to building autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for factory material movement. He details the company's journey from a $1M seed funded by his own capital to raising $37M+, highlighting the decision to use expensive 3D LiDAR early on and the pivot from a bulky prototype to a compact, hub-motor design after initial customer feedback. Chandra discusses the challenges of B2B sales with Fortune 500 clients, the strategic advantage of Bangalore's manufacturing ecosystem, and the importance of maintaining a standardized product to avoid costly customizations.

    Starting a product companyPrototyping & iteration
    8 chapters

  • Product Startup · 38m

    112: Designing & Commercializing Robotics Inventions

    Andra Keay, Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, explains the transition from industrial 'Robotics 1.0' to consumer-focused 'Robotics 2.0,' highlighting how affordable sensors and real-time processing enable products like robot vacuums to navigate environments. She outlines the 'three stools' of commercialization—funding, product-market fit, and manufacturing—warning founders against giving up excessive equity to accelerators and urging them to validate demand before scaling. Keay emphasizes that successful robotics startups must navigate the difficult transition from prototype to volume production, often requiring a complete redesign from accessible dev boards like Arduino to cost-effective custom PCBs.

    Robotics & autonomyFundraising & investors
    7 chapters

  • The Robo Success Podcast · 31m

    Ep. 10: The Scale-Readiness Gap in Robotics | The Robo Success Podcast

    Chioma Aso, Founder and Principal Consultant at Polymavericks Engineering, explains the 'scale-readiness gap' in robotics, arguing that a working prototype is a false indicator of manufacturing repeatability. She details her five-pillar framework—covering architecture, sim-to-real gaps, V&V/compliance, supply chain, and operating models—to help hardware startups transition from garage prototypes to enterprise-grade products. Aso emphasizes that scaling is a core architectural design choice made on day one, not a post-R&D phase, and warns against tolerance stack-ups and environmental edge cases that cause field failures in later production units.

    Robotics & autonomyDesign for manufacturing & NPI
    5 chapters

  • Manufacturing Happy Hour · 37m

    191: The State of Robotics: Live From the 2024 Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston, MA

    Host Chris Luecke recaps the 2024 Robotics Summit in Boston, featuring interviews with Jonathan Hurst of Agility Robotics, Joyce Sidopoulos of MassRobotics, and Scott Sizemore of Electrocraft. The episode explores the commercialization of humanoid robots, the shift from disjointed component sourcing to integrated motion systems, and the role of accelerators in scaling early-stage robotics startups.

    Robotics & autonomyScaling production
    5 chapters

  • Robot Talk · 24m

    Episode 109: Building robots at home - Dan Nicholson

    Dan Nicholson, founder of MakerForge.tech, discusses his journey from a software engineer to building a large-scale open-source bipedal companion robot. He explains how he transitioned from a simple cube design to a complex, 3D-printable robot using hobby servos, Raspberry Pi, and cloud-based CAD tools to make robotics accessible to non-experts. Nicholson highlights the challenges of balancing cost and functionality in hobby robotics, the importance of rapid prototyping with 3D printing, and the value of open-source collaboration in accelerating development and community engagement.

    Robotics & autonomyPrototyping & iteration
    9 chapters

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.