Innovating Robotics: Eliot Horowitz’s New Venture
Nearly twenty years prior, Eliot Horowitz, alongside a cadre of cofounders, established a groundbreaking entity that played a critical role in the nascent stages of big data.
This company, which ultimately evolved into MongoDB, pioneered scalable solutions while simultaneously driving down costs and minimizing the specialized technical expertise required for setting up extensive and complex databases.
By harnessing the power of an open-source model, MongoDB democratized access for the developer community, facilitating iterative enhancements to the product.
Today, Horowitz aims to transpose the principles that propelled his success in the big data realm into the sphere of robotics.
Through his latest endeavor, Viam, he is constructing a platform envisioned to empower software engineers in the creation and iterative development of software stacks for robotics and automation systems.
In Horowitz’s candid assessment, the tools presently available for crafting exceptional software in this domain are, regrettably, “not great.”
Awareness of Viam grew as the company’s technology became foundational for Gambit Robotics, an enterprise dedicated to developing a vision guidance system for culinary applications.
Horowitz, who co-leads Gambit alongside former Google AI chief Nicole Maffeo, operates it as a startup nested within a startup.
Moreover, Viam is laying the groundwork for specialized solutions catering to commercial kitchens, boat sanding, fishing, and various other verticals.
Engaging with Horowitz offered the opportunity to delve into his shift toward robotics and his vision for the evolution of robotics development in the forthcoming decade.
The following is an abridged interview; while the entirety of our dialogue can be accessed via The Spoon Podcast. Responses have been subtly refined for clarity.
Why did you decide to embark on a journey into robotics?
In late 2020, I found myself disheartened by the arduous process of bringing robotics and hardware projects to fruition. Conversations with fellow software engineers revealed that their experiences mirrored my frustrations.
One of your focuses has been the substantial technology chasm between software and the physical engineering world. How does your new enterprise bridge that divide?
What became apparent was that extensive research over the past thirty years has advanced hardware, including batteries, motors, and robotic arms.
Meanwhile, the methodology for constructing software applications has undergone a seismic shift compared to two decades ago.
Many advancements in hardware have stagnated. Robotics projects amalgamate substantial software and hardware requirements, complicating matters when software tools are disjointed from their hardware and operational counterparts, resulting in disarray and ineffectiveness.
Our solution? We are developing a platform that empowers engineers to actualize their projects.
In the early Internet era, website creation was formidable until platforms like WordPress emerged. Are you effectively crafting a WordPress for robotics?
This analogy resonates profoundly. We often jest that if a Perl developer had been handed AWS back in 1998, they would be at a loss. We aspire to engender a similar leap in the robotics field. Our goal is to reduce the burden of robotics project development from requiring vast teams of engineers to empowering individuals or small teams to realize legitimate production hardware projects within a startup’s budget.
What insights gleaned from building MongoDB are you applying to your new venture?
MongoDB thrived due to the robust community we cultivated, actively listening to user feedback, often to our detriment, to ensure they could build precisely what they envisioned.
There exists a deficit of engineers in this sector. By enabling more engineers to engage in robotics, we cultivate an environment where collaboration flourishes, leading to innovative solutions. Our objective is to illustrate the possibilities and inspire countless individuals to actualize their visionary ideas.
Historically, the trajectory to market for robotic technology has been lengthy and costly. Do you foresee a significant reduction in both timelines and capital requirements?
Absolutely. I observe that many unsuccessful robotic startups struggle to achieve viable proof of concepts (POCs) swiftly. The engineering demands to actualize them become exceedingly prolonged. A pivotal issue is the extensive iteration times; transitioning from one version to the next takes far too long.
By facilitating rapid iterations, where a new version can be tested almost instantaneously, we catalyze significant advancements. Our focus is on minimizing the time between proof of concept and production.
With an estimated 30 million software engineers globally, many feel daunted by hardware. Conversely, hardware engineers have not historically enjoyed smooth collaboration with their software counterparts.
Our mission is to forge this divide, fostering a seamless cycle of collaboration that redefines the landscape.
What are your thoughts regarding humanoid robotics in kitchen environments?
I remain skeptical. However, a robotic arm integrated into my kitchen could adeptly manage tasks such as stirring, ingredient management, and temperature adjustments—a genuinely valuable asset.
This does not demand groundbreaking advancements; we already possess the requisite technology and software to achieve this innovation today. Numerous practical and incremental steps can be taken promptly to advance this endeavor.
Source link: Thespoon.tech.
