Robot development, from actuators to AI
In Episode 230 of The Robot Report Podcast, hosts Mike Oitzman and Eugene Demaitre recap the major robotics news of the week and speak with two robotics experts.
Marco Mauerer, global robotics business manager at Maxon.
Our first guest this week is Mario Mauerer. He studied electrical engineering at ETH Zürich, completing a Ph.D. in power electronics.
In 2018, Mauerer joined ANYbotics in 2018, where he helped scale the company’s quadruped inspection robot fleet, as well as the enterprise itself from 20 to more than 120 employees.
In 2024, Maurer left his role as chief technology officer of hardware to join maxon motor, where he now works as global business development manager for robotics with the aim of bringing advanced drive systems to modern robotics applications.
David Koelle, principal software engineer and director of engineering, Charles River Analytics.
Our featured interview this week is with David Koelle. He is director of engineering for the Human-Centered AI division and principal software engineer at Charles River Analytics, where he develops multi-robot collaborative autonomy systems for clients including DARPA, NASA, and the U.S. Air Force.
Koelle and his Charles River team are building autonomous platforms that enable robot teams to work together to complete objectives.
The goal is to develop intelligent swarm systems that can make decisions on the edge in extreme environments such as mines, outer space, or battlefields, where they may be cut off from traditional communications with operators.
Show timeline
- 8:12 – News of the week
- 16:09 – Interview with maxon’s Marco Maurer
- 34:34 – Interview with Charles River Analytics’ David Koelle
News of the week
Waymo is coming to Boston and Sacramento
Waymo, which this week raised $16 billion, bringing its total valuation to $126 billion, also announced plans to bring its robotaxis to two more cities. The company had previously mapped Boston without specifying when it would offer service in the currently snowy Northeast.
Humanoid developer LimX closes $200M Series B round
Humanoid robotics companies are continuing to get capital to bring their systems to market. LimX Dynamics this week completed a $200 million financing round. The company said it plans to use its latest funding to further accelerate research and development and market expansion.
LimX is integrating high-level cognitive planning with whole-body motion control in limbed robots. The company claimed that its TRON 2 and LimX COSA systems have attracted attention across the industry in recent months.
The company will be bringing its humanoid to the Robotics Summit & Expo in Boston. Humanoids were also a topic of recent proposed legislation, as well as The Robot Report‘s “State of the Robotics Industry 2026” report.
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