Melonee Sensible is the brand new chief product officer of KUKA’s software program and AI group. | Supply: Melonee Sensible
Robotics trade veteran Melonee Sensible has taken a brand new place at KUKA AG. She is now the chief product officer for the corporate’s new software program and synthetic intelligence group in Silicon Valley. Sensible stated she has been within the place for about 4 weeks thus far.
Sensible was beforehand the chief product officer at Agility Robotics. She stepped down from that place in August.
In 2023, Sensible joined the humanoid robotics developer as chief know-how officer, and he or she shifted into the chief product officer function in Could 2024. Sensible led Agility’s engineering staff along with its newly fashioned product group.
“I took a while off after Agility, after which I began on the lookout for a brand new function,” Sensible advised The Robotic Report. “I met with quite a lot of totally different firms, however I ended up assembly with the staff at KUKA, and I acquired actually excited concerning the new software program and AI group that was being put collectively in Silicon Valley. That was clearly one large draw for me, getting to actually concentrate on software program and AI with such a big firm.”
Sensible has years of expertise within the robotics trade. Previous to becoming a member of Agility in 2023, she was the vice chairman of robotics automation at Zebra Applied sciences. Earlier than that, Sensible was CEO of cellular robotic maker Fetch Robotics till its acquisition by Zebra in 2021 for $290 million.
Final month, Sensible joined the board of advisors at A&Okay Robotics, which develops micromobility platforms.
Sensible brings a startup mindset to one of many world’s largest robotics firms
Previous to working with KUKA, a lot of Sensible’s expertise has been in constructing firms from the bottom up. Now, she’ll have the chance to innovate with the assets of an industrial automation supplier that introduced in greater than $4 billion in 2024.
“KUKA has such a big put in base of robotic techniques, and having the ability to construct on prime of that’s actually thrilling,” stated Sensible. “Having been at quite a lot of startups for the final 20 years, you’re all the time ranging from the bottom up. It’s important to construct your buyer base. It’s important to construct all of that belief.”
“It’s actually thrilling to come back into KUKA, with that large buyer base, all that belief, and quite a lot of deployed merchandise,” she added. “So after we go and construct these cool new software program techniques, we’re constructing on a giant base and capable of transfer quick and do some fairly cool issues.”
On the identical time, nonetheless, Sensible plans to carry a few of the startup tradition she’s so acquainted with to KUKA.
“I’ve seen quite a lot of various things during the last 15 years of deploying robots,” Sensible stated. “I’ve had quite a lot of expertise deploying new know-how inside industrial areas, which has its personal distinctive model of enjoyable, and so I do know the place the pitfalls are of deploying new know-how in these conventional automation areas.”
Thus far, she has been working to get to know KUKA’s prospects.
“The good factor while you have a look at KUKA’s prospects is that they’re very pragmatic. They need to remedy actual issues at present,” Sensible stated. “As a roboticist, you’ll be able to spend quite a lot of time in demo land. I believe it’s tremendous thrilling to have the ability to work with prospects proper out of the gate, get their suggestions and their opinions, good or unhealthy, concerning the work that you just’re doing, and always enhance.”
What is going to the brand new software program and AI group concentrate on?
In her new place, Sensible is constructing a staff of software program and AI consultants for KUKA in Silicon Valley.
“We’re constructing a middle of excellence in Silicon Valley,” she famous. “We’re going to be specializing in unifying quite a lot of our software program techniques to make it possible for we’re creating the fitting atmosphere for deploying giant autonomous techniques at scale, in order that we are able to turn into extra autonomous, extra related, and software-defined as an organization. That’s central to our imaginative and prescient going ahead.”
A lot of the group’s focus shall be on delivering for purchasers who count on extra from robots than up to now.
“After we have a look at the problem going ahead, extra industrial environments are having extra various kinds of robots, so it’s changing into extra dynamic, extra heterogeneous,” defined Sensible. “Our prospects are demanding extra from us round making [robotics] straightforward to make use of, making it extra clever. We need to mainly be capable of meet them and to adapt to those always altering situations and be extra impartial, cellular, related, and context-aware.”
Thus far, the staff is made up of Sensible and two different individuals, however KUKA shall be hiring for positions within the new group. candidates can attain out to her for extra info.
“The staff is small. We’re engaged on getting an workplace arrange and getting robots there,” Sensible stated. “Proper now, we have now a robotic in somebody’s storage as a result of we’re nonetheless engaged on getting a robotic area. However that’s form of the custom of Silicon Valley, beginning in somebody’s storage. So, I believe that basically embraces the Valley vibe, and anchors the story round KUKA attempting to construct its middle of excellence.”
KUKA to wager on cellular manipulation
Sensible has spent a lot of her profession working with cellular robots, whether or not or not it’s the AMRs she developed at Fetch or the humanoids she labored on at Agility. In her opinion, cellular manipulation shall be an rising focus for the trade within the coming years.
“I believe that in three to 5 years, cellular manipulation goes to be the place it’s at. Now, I don’t assume anybody actually is aware of precisely what’s going to be the killer format for it, whether or not it’s wheels and arms, legs and arms, one arm, two arms,” stated Sensible. “At KUKA, we’re going to be having a bet round cellular manipulation. We’re nonetheless coming to a full conclusion on what the type of that’s, however I believe that that’s the place the massive bets are going to be positioned within the subsequent three to 5 years,” Sensible stated.
For now, nonetheless, Sensible shall be retaining her head down and attending to work. She hinted at KUKA popping out with extra info within the new yr.
“My objective is to only execute and transfer quick,” Sensible stated. “We’re clearly constructing a roadmap. My objective is to mainly crush it, get it finished as quick as doable, and ship, ship, ship.”
“It’s a reasonably aggressive market on the market proper now,” she acknowledged. “There are quite a lot of totally different individuals constructing options and merchandise for the market, and everybody, not simply KUKA, is on a ticking fuse to be first to market.”
“So, my objective is to get on the market and ship, and supply worth as quick as doable, and execute on our roadmap as well timed as doable,” Sensible concluded. “Sadly, we’re not prepared to speak about a few of the cooler issues that we’re engaged on, however I hope to have the ability to discuss that within the new yr.”
KUKA provides cellular manipulators for transporting supplies, machine tending, inspection, order selecting, and pick-and-place duties. | Supply: KUKA
