Definition of Robotics Guru: Roboticist
I'm Tom Stevens (nickname: HAROLD) from the Boston Dynamics Atlas project that helped spawn and create dynamic humanoid robots in 2014!
In the 90's, I was pushing the boundaries of how fast a motor could move with accuracy. (Examples of success are DNA mapping, retina scanning and mapping, space shuttle docking, and many others) Without my team, none of these would have been possible.
But...there was a more ambitious frontier on the horizon...dynamic robotics. After a stint in semiconductor work, I joined Boston Dynamics to figuire out how to make robotics hardware survive and perform to the dreams of tomorrow. It wasn't only me, rather, it was a dream team I was part of, learning techniques not taught in university settings. This was really a cutting-edge combination of physics, electrical, mechanical, emag, and forward looking invention...with the right people creating tomorrow, which is where we are today.
There are scores of dynamic humanoid companies now, but there was only one in 2014...Boston Dynamics, led by Marc Raibert, Al Rizzi, and Robert Playter. They were the rockstars of dynamic robotics....and so I joined the effort knowing that the absolute best in the robotics industry were leading the charge into things that had never been done.
I remember an interview question, "What makes you think that you can do robotics?" My honest answer was, "I work on world changing servo systems, because there are no real robotics companies." This was a true statement in 2014.
Fast forward to today and there are many humanoid (BD replica) companies containing the original BD crew members that started it all.
Time moves on and technology advancements must go to the wind to allow folks to continue inventing the next leap, based on the tech of last year. This is where I have recently found my place in the chaotic world of robotics.
After 30+ years of working closely with the world's most ambitious and successful robotics Engineers, CEO's , and Techs, I'm now at RAI (The Robtics and AI Institute) watching the hardware I make survive the newest ambitions of AI and robotics!
