R3plica

Meet Nathan George

CEO & Founder @ Newmind Robotics

Boston, Massachusetts, USA 

Nathan George is the CEO/Founder of Newmind Robotics, a robotics software company with an app to navigate robots along with Robotics and AI consulting.

He has built and debugged 10+ robots with 10+ sensors, including a humanoid, quadcopter, wheeled manipulators, and gantries with stereo cameras, infrared, ultrasonic, light, touch, and force sensors.

Explain what is SLAM, it’s importance and function in robotics?

SLAM, or Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, is the ability for a system to understand it’s a location in a “map” or collection of organized data while simultaneously making both more accurate.

Robust SLAM can be challenging and is why many robots are stationary or have basic navigation, but it will be the cornerstone for more complex systems, like self-driving cars.

Once robots can easily know where they are and map out there environment similar to humans coming to a new place, they can automate significantly more tedious work.

Explain the differences between path planning and motion planning?

Path planning is about finding the optimal path for various goals on a map while avoiding larger obstacles.

Motion planning is about finding the optimal velocities and motor sequences for translation and rotation of the robot.

Explain a challenge you have faced in implementing SLAM?

The largest problem with most SLAM systems tends to be localization. Although SLAM’s “loop closure” technique greatly increases localization drift from conventional methods, it still usually isn’t enough.

Even when it is enough, the number of features in memory tends to be too much for the local system’s RAM. We’re currently experimenting in this area.

Do you have any Robotics project that wants to share your experience?

Our main project is Newmind Navigation: a non-technical app to quickly get any stereo camera-based robot moving.

Currently, all navigation solutions either require engineering skills or a lot of money. This solution will solve both problems so anyone can create a mobile robotics product.

What is the importance of Artificial Intelligence in robotics?

Although AI is huge now, many robotics applications don’t actually need it to generate substantial revenue. There are still many jobs that can be automated that don’t require AI.

Even so, once robotics becomes normal, many companies will start to create AI solutions to augment existing robots.

What is the story and mission for Newmind Robotics?

Newmind Robotics is a startup located in the Boston Area that creates robotics solutions, from fetching tennis balls to autonomously trimming plants to automating navigation for large vehicles.

We will convert any robotics idea into a robotics business by creating the software, hardware, and infrastructure.

Our core product is a robotics navigation app. Like how Microsoft created an operating system to allow computers to be mass-produced, we are creating software to drastically lower costs for a mobile robot.

We are also creating the most affordable outdoors autonomous robot to quicken proofs-of-concept for robotics startups to generate series investments.

For more information about Newmind Robotics go to newmindrobotics.com