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Automate It: A Robotics Podcast

Polymath Robotics

Each week, the co-founders of Polymath Robotics sit down to give you the inside scoop on the robotics industry. They'll share war stories, weird facts, and little-known approaches to working with robots (with a special focus on autonomous vehicles).

About the hosts:
Stefan Seltz-Axmacher is the CEO of Polymath Robotics, and is best known as the founder of Starsky Robotics, an early autonomous trucking pioneer. Ilia Baranov, CTO, was employee # 10 at Clearpath Robotics, has led teams at Amazon's home robot division, and owned the ROS repo after Willow Garage shut down.

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  • 20 episodes
  • Avg 42 min
  • English

Episodes 20

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  • May 22 · 55 min

    Ep 64 – We're Back, the HOA Called, and Claude Code Changed Everything

    In Ep 64 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia are back after seven months in the trenches closing and delivering Polymath's biggest deal yet — and oh boy do they have thoughts. But first, they play the robot invention game, dreaming up a dystopian HOA enforcement drone that patrols your neighborhood for shutter color violations, checks your grass height with lasers, and may or may not have a paintball gun attached. You're welcome, homeowners associations everywhere. Then, the guys catch up on everything that's changed since October: why closing a company changing deal is harder than building the robots, what Claude Code actually is and isn't good for, and why the real industrial revolution (you know, the one Henry Ford started) never made it outdoors. Plus: why fake startups with great fundraising videos keep out-raising real ones, and what it would actually take to run a lights out facility. If you're into robotics, startup war stories, dystopian surveillance tech, or just want to know why Stefan spent 60 hours building a calendaring tool, this one's for you.

  • Oct 8, 2025 · 44 min

    Ep 63 – Robots, Cells, and the FDA with Fred Parietti of Multiply Labs

    In ep 62 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia sit down with Fred Parietti of Multiply Labs to talk about the wild intersection of robotics and biology – from personalized pills to robots making cell therapies. They dig into why $500K cell therapies still rely on manual, error-prone lab work, how biology’s “black magic” makes automation nearly impossible, and what it takes to build robots that can work in sterile clean rooms. Along the way, Fred explains why the FDA isn’t the villain everyone assumes, why supplements crushed his soul, and how learning from video demos might finally teach robots the unteachable. It’s a journey through biotech’s artisanal chaos, startup pivots, and the strange joy of realizing your robots are better suited for cell therapy than Instagram. If you’re into robotics, biotech, startup war stories, or just want to hear Ilia out himself as an actual cyborg, this one’s for you.

  • Aug 21, 2025 · 50 min

    Ep 62 – The Billion-Dollar Blind Spot in Enterprise Robotics

    In Ep 62 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia imagine a fleet of LLM-powered “Robot Ranger 3000” dog bots to track and protect endangered deer, complete with battery swaps, forest-wide power cables, and some very questionable AI decisions. Then, they dig into the real challenges of enterprise robotics — from integrating with decades-old IT systems to why autonomy is the key to efficiency in mining and agriculture. They also share how fundraising doubles as a sales tactic and why trillion dollar industries still fly under Silicon Valley’s radar.

  • Jun 25, 2025 · 49 min

    Ep 61 - The Three Laws of Robotics

    In ep 61 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia dive headfirst into robot subversion hoodies, self-cleaning backyards, and the philosophical sinkholes of the Three Laws of Robotics. They explore why "don't hurt humans" is harder to code than it sounds, the limits of common sense in machine learning, and how old sci-fi still haunts today’s AI safety debates. Then, things get weird. From fiber optic controlled drones in Ukraine to perimeter defense bots equipped with buzzsaws, the duo brainstorm real (and, our lawyer wants to say, inadvisable) autonomous battlefield tech. But first, they play the robot invention game and accidentally invent a $2,000 robotic hand-on-a-stick startup. If you're into philosophy, robotics, defense tech, and backyard wood chip problems(?), this one’s for you.

  • May 14, 2025 · 38 min

    Ep 60 - Does Nobody Care About Driver-Out Anymore?

    On this episode of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia dive into Aurora’s recent announcement about running driver-out trucks on public highways—an undeniably huge technical feat, but one that curiously failed to make a media splash. But first, they play the Robot Invention Game, drawing a wild scenario: applying deep learning to railroads.

  • Apr 24, 2025 · 1 hr 13 min

    Ep 59 - David LaRose from Carnegie Robotics on the Reality of Robotics

    This week on Automate It, we're excited to have a special guest! Carnegie Robotics co-founder David LaRose joins the podcast to share his perspective on the evolution of robotics from academic research to rugged real-world systems. He reflects on what’s changed - and what hasn’t - over the last 15 years, from safety systems that still rely on spreadsheets to why so many autonomous vehicle projects have stalled. David also unpacks the real challenges of selling to the DoD, the importance of enabling the next generation of robotics companies with hardened components, and what it’s like crawling through Florida cornfields in the name of agtech R&D. (00:00) Introduction and welcome to the episode (00:32) Robot Invention Game: Foundational Models for Space Exploration (18:30) David’s journey from liberal arts to robotics via IBM and CMU (20:41) Founding Carnegie Robotics (23:55) Why the robotics industry hasn’t scaled as fast as expected (29:18) Safety systems: still slow, manual, and deeply fragmented (35:17) Why big companies (Amazon, Apple) still struggle with robotics (40:05) Demos gone wrong: off-by-one bugs, e-stop failures, and bedbugs (45:38) Working with the DoD: myths, structure, and real challenges (01:08:30) Launching ruggedized autonomy kits and components online (01:16:33) Environmental challenges and thermal testing tales (01:20:42) Advice for roboticists: Embrace collaboration, not just competition (01:23:00) What’s next for Carnegie Robotics: Supporting the enablers

  • Apr 9, 2025 · 30 min

    Ep 58 - Why is Hardware So Expensive?

    In the 58th episode of Automate It, Polymath Robotics co-founders Stefan Seltz-Axmacher and Ilia Baranov discuss why hardware for robots is so dang expensive. But first, they play the robot invention game and come up with a humanoid axe murderer.

  • Mar 13, 2025 · 43 min

    Ep 57 - Vertical vs Horizontal Integration in Tech

    On Ep 57 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia get into Polymath Robotics' latest progress—scaling the team, launching new customer projects, and pushing forward despite the usual challenges. Then they play the robot game, brainstorming how machine learning could help identify high-value recyclables -- devolving into "spot the $10 treasure," complete with GPU budgets, conveyor belt chaos, and the eternal battle between processing speed and precision. Then, they tackle the vertical vs. horizontal integration debate—when to build, when to buy, and how to avoid the costly mistakes of legacy autonomy. Plus, a deep dive into Polymath’s approach to testing and development, from cost-effective sensor trials to the surprising impact of RF interference in agricultural automation.

  • Feb 20, 2025 · 41 min

    Ep 56 - The Pitfalls of Traditional Collision Avoidance Systems

    On this episode of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia break down the surprisingly flawed state of collision avoidance systems in mining—where billion-dollar companies still rely on network-dependent GPS safety systems that can fail with network outages, jamming, or spoofing. They get into why legacy mining autonomy is stuck in the past, how vendor lock-in prevents progress, and what a modern, sensor-driven approach to safety should actually look like. But first, they play the robot invention game, brainstorming thermal-camera-guided healthcare robots before escalating into a zombie apocalypse fever-detection system—complete with flamethrowers, saw blades, and a ruthless AI security gate. You're welcome.

  • Feb 14, 2025 · 55 min

    Ep 55 - Adrian from Foxglove on the State of Robotics Today

    On Ep 55 of Automate It, we invite Adrian Macneil, CEO of Foxglove, to play the robot game -- which takes a turn into pest control, debating whether humanoid robots should stomp or grab mice. Then, Adrian gives us a deep dive on the state of robotics developer tools, why debugging robots is still a mess, and what it takes to build a software company in a hardware-heavy industry. Plus: why robotics is where SaaS was in the early 2000s—and what that means for the future.

  • Jan 29, 2025 · 31 min

    Ep 54 - What Makes a Robot "Safe Enough"?

    In Ep 54 of Automate It, Polymath's co-founders tackle the tough topic of safety -- and what it means for a big heavy robot to be "safe enough." But first, they play the robot invention game, which creates industrial grey goop. Try the grey stuff it's delicious, indeed.

  • Jan 21, 2025 · 38 min

    Ep 53 - Takeaways from CES 2025

    On Ep 53 of Automate It, the guys discuss their takeaways from CES 2025 - including Jensen Huang's big announcement on autonomous vehicles, how the Chinese auto industry is leapfrogging everyone, evolution of the Lidar industry, a big OEM stepping back from autonomy, and more. But first, they play the robot invention game, which they basically use to make fun of a VTOL "company" that exhibited at CES this year.

  • Dec 4, 2024 · 46 min

    Ep 51 - Hype vs Reasonable Robots

    This week on Automate It, the guys invent a robot that spearfishes for shipping containers at the bottom of the ocean. Then, they're talking one of the mysteries of the universe: why "hype" robotics is often perceived as more valuable than robots that actually, you know, work.

  • Oct 31, 2024 · 30 min

    Ep 50 - Beneath the Surface: Robots Under Water

    On Episode 50 of Automate It (!!) the guys play the robot invention game and come up with a robot for assessing your cleanliness levels. Then, we're diving DEEP (pun intended) into the challenges of underwater robots.

  • Oct 17, 2024 · 34 min

    Ep 49 - Big Robots at MINEXPO and Tesla's Robot "Demo"

    In Episode 49 of Automate It, Stefan & Ilia reflect on whether MINEXPO is secretly the best robotics conference. Then, they break down Tesla's humanoid robot demo and whether fake demos are ever "okay." But first, the robot invention game results in a pyromaniac AI for data collection.

  • Sep 20, 2024 · 35 min

    Ep 48 - What's Hard About AMRs

    In Ep 48 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia discuss why we don't work with AMRs. But first, they play the robot invention game and come up with quad rotors for smart cities.

  • Sep 10, 2024 · 34 min

    Ep 47 - Robots for the Military

    In Episode 47 of Automate It, Stefan and Ilia play the robot game and invent autonomous shopping carts that can return themselves. They also learn that Stefan is the type of person to abandon shopping carts (shocking!). Then, the main discussion of the day: why doesn't the military have better robots? The guys break down why the Defense Industrial Complex hasn't kept up with consumer-grade robots in recent conflicts (and what can be done about it).

  • Aug 9, 2024 · 48 min

    Ep 46 - How Do You Regulate Robots?

    On Episode 24 of Automate It, Polymath Robotics co-founders Stefan and Ilia play the robot invention game and come up with a swarm of zeppelins that yeet pizza at you. Or as Ilia puts it, a robot version of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It's silly but turns into an in-depth discussion on the state of swarm technologies. Then, they're talking robotics regulation: will SB 1047 really kill the booming AI industry?

  • Aug 1, 2024 · 33 min

    Ep 45 - Why Doesn't Starlink Solve All the Problems?

    In Ep 45 of Automate It, Stefan & Ilia try to play the robot game but mostly get sidetracked talking about movie magic. Then, they're debunking a popular myth in robotics: that Starlink will solve all your remote connectivity problems.

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes