The Robot Industry Podcast

Welcome to #157 of TRIP, The Robot Industry Podcast. I met up with Matt in Windsor during the Windsor-Essex' Emerging Technologies in Automation & Mobility Transformation Conference & Trade Show.

Matthew Hortop, P.E. is a Technical Specialist for all Things Electrification.

AVL is his employer and they are a 12,000-person company focused on powertrains. They don't make engines or inverters, they help customers doing the technology development. Batteries have become an important part of the automotive industry, including the drivetrain.

AVL

https://www.avl.com/en/engineering/e-mobility-engineering/battery-development-electric-vehicles

Some of t...

Welcome to #156 of TRIP, The Robot Industry Podcast. Matt Khoshdarregi is the CEO of TetraGen Robotics. He holds a P.Eng. and Ph.D.

They, TetraGen, are a Manitoba-based developer of adaptive robotic manufacturing systems for high-mix, high-variability applications. Their current focus is on welding and trimming processes. Enjoy the podcast!

Some of my questions to him:

Matt, How did you get into the industry?

Tell me (and our audience) about TetraGen.

Who are your bullseye customers?

Why did you choose robotic welding?

How big...

Welcome to #158, I have known Stephen Slothuber for a long time; in fact, I worked with him and his father at ATS Automation. The Slothubers were an institution at ATS for accuracy, dependability and getting things done.

I was happy to have Steve on the podcast to talk about CRM for automation integrators and machine builders.

Enjoy the podcast and if you are thinking about a CRM for your machine building company, or are thinking about a Zoho implementation, I highly recommend him and his company

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenslothouber

Chris Latour and I have known each other for many years, from our days at ATS Automation, and it was my pleasure to reach out to him to arrange a tour of Element5 in St. Thomas, Ontario. So if you have never heard of Mass Timber, it is structurally efficient wood that is bonded together and used to form small and large buildings: walls, ceilings, floors and is engineered to be easy to use, to look beautiful and be functional. Think of a wall that needs a plumbing stack cutout, but it is actually cut at the factory using 3...

I had the pleasure of recording an episode with Stan Gleizer, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Integrators and OEMs. He works for Mecademic Industrial Robotics and is based in Montreal.

With a background in mechatronics and over a decade of experience in aerospace and automotive robotics, Stan has spent his career working on high-precision systems involving vision, force feedback, and micron-level motion. That path led him to Mecademic, a Montreal-based robot manufacturer purpose-built for microautomation.

Together, they explore how Mecademic is rethinking industrial robotics for applications where space, precision, and system simplicity matter more than brute f...

If you have been a listener to The Robot Industry Podcast, then you already know Geoffrey Bremner. His fingerprints are all over our podcast. He is my audio engineer, but he is more than that; he is a friend, a supplier, and a neighbour.

Geoff is a true geek, loves recording music and podcasts.

Welcome to Automation Matters Podcast with me, Jim Beretta.

Have a listen.

Jim

Notes:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreybremner

https://linktr.ee/gbaudio

I would like to introduce you to my NEW podcast called Automation Matters. In Automation Matters, we are going to concentrate on the front of the house in the automation business. The people who interface, who plan and who provide services, to the companies that build and deploy automation and robotics. 

This podcast will be about marketing, sales, strategy, business development, customer attraction and strategies for growing your automation business. 

We will look at big trends and micro trends, best practices and things I learned helping grow one the largest automation integrators in the industry.

Welcome to episode #153. I was lucky to meet up with Tarek Rahim in Windsor, ON, at the Emerging Technologies in Automation conference. The conference also highlights Mobility Transportation. I wish to thank the team at Emerging Technologies for getting me involved in the day.

You can find out more about the organizers (Invest Windsor Essex) at https://www.emergingtechnologies.ca/ or at https://www.investwindsoressex.com/.

If you have not heard of Tarek or Mirsee Robotics, they have built a humanoid robot for use at work, think "end of line" in factories also think pick...

For this edition, #152 of The Robot Industry Podcast, I welcome Caleb Appleton from Bison Ventures.

Bison Ventures is a Venture Capital (VC) firm with $135M AUM for frontier tech. From AI-powered drug discovery to collaborative robotics, Bison backs bold, deeply scientific solutions that have potential for massive commercial scale. An all-engineer team, Bison believes most attractive opportunities exist at the intersection of technical disciplines ignored by mainstream VC. 

Partner Caleb Appleton specializes in physical applications of AI. He’s an early investor in Cobot, a collaborative robotics co. En route to unicorn status following its $100M S...

A shoutout to Windsor Essex's Wendy Stark and the team at Invest WindsorEssex. I was invited to attend their Emerging Technologies in Automation & Mobility Transformation 2025 event in Windsor, and I was lucky to be able to catch up with him.

From DIN rails to terminal blocks to power supplies, Garrett Renders has seen many automation products from a young age. He is currently the Business Development Manager at Phoenix Contact Canada for Ontario. His role is to help clients solve problems using our PC's automation portfolio (which includes controllers, networking, interfaces, and safety). While Phoenix Contact is...

Welcome to podcast # 150! My guest for this edition is Dr. Yun Yao.

Yun Yao, holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from McGill University, is a dynamic professional known for her creativity and ambition. In 2010, she co-founded Tactile Labs, a non-profit organization that advances haptics research, where her leadership has fostered innovation and collaboration. After completing her PhD, Yun became a senior engineer, designing wireless communication systems, excelling both technically and in leading innovation initiatives. In 2021, she co-founded Soralink to integrate AI and IoT into the food manufacturing and processing industry, aiming to apply cutting-edge technologies to real-world...

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to The Robot Industry Podcast #149

This episode too is a little different for The Robot Industry Podcast. This episode is about sponsorships and their efficacy. Informa is a client for over 15 years (aka UBM, and Canon Communications).

I have been involved in the ADM (Advanced Design & Manufacturing) Toronto and ADM Montreal shows for many years. If you know me, you may have fielded a phone call or read an email about the show and the efficacy of being involved in trade events.

I have invited Gayle Hutchens, who...

Hello Everyone,

This episode is a little different for The Robot Industry Podcast. I have invited some of my friends from the ADM Toronto 2025 show to join me to talk about the upcoming show. Informa is a client for over 15 years (aka UBM, and Canon Communications).

I have been involved in the ADM Toronto and ADM Montreal shows for many years. If you know me, you may have fielded a phone call or read an email about the show and the efficacy of being involved in trade events.

I have invited Kayle Kvinge...

Welcome to The Robot Industry Podcast #147. My guest for this segment is Bruce Polson whom I have known for decades. He is a very smart guy.

Bruce has over 30 years of experience in automation and engineering.  He began as a process engineer and consumer of automation, establishing a background in processes such as forming, welding, material handling, joining, and discrete assembly.  In automation, he began as an application engineer and eventually migrated into business development, where he has been for the last 15 years.

Who is Ehrhardt Automation?

How do you buy and automation sy...

Hello Robot Friends. Welcome to edition #146 of The Robot Industry Podcast. My guest today is Vivian Chu.

Vivian Chu is a roboticist with over a decade of experience in human-robot interaction. She created Moxi and Poli, and applied her HRI and machine learning expertise to platforms like PR2, Meka, and Kinova Jaco2. She has worked at Google[X], Honda Research Institute, and IBM Research. Vivian holds a Ph.D. in Robotics from Georgia Tech and an M.S.E. from the University of Pennsylvania. She’s been recognized by MIT Technology Review (35 Innovators Under 35), Fortune (40 Under 40), named a...

Welcome to episode #145 with Shaun Ghafari. Shaun holds a Ph.D., P.Eng. Dean, Engineering at the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology (FAST) at Humber College in Toronto.

Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology (FAST) is growing to meet the needs of industry in engineering, mechatronics, robotics, information technology, data analytics, cybersecurity, sustainable design, and the skilled trades. 

Shaun, Tell me a bit about yourself.

Who is Humber College?

What are the most interesting courses?

You talk to Manufacturers….what are the Challenges for manufacturers?

What are they...

Welcome to podcast edition #144. I welcome my friend Konrad Konnerth to the pod

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the robot industry podcast . Thanks for joining us and for subscribing.

Konrad, welcome to the podcast. Can you take a few minutes and introduce yourself to our audience?

Tell me about your automation background here in southwestern Ontario (SWO).

What is happening from a high level in automation?

You have a strong background in precision indexing automation from Germany, correct?

Can you tell our audience about your Adapto...

Welcome to edition #143 of The Robot Industry Podcast. For this edition I am interviewing Andrew Perkins. He is a long time automation machine vision expert and is heading up TrueLight Machine Vision, a division of BOS Innovations.

Andrew, how did you get into this industry?

Who are your customers? Manufacturers or other integrators, robotics OEMs (or all three)?

Do you have a typical customer or are they all custom?

Who is TrueLight Machine Vision Integrations?

Tell me a bit about what is going on in automated vision (in the...

MPI Solutions is a talented group of professionals helping industries across North America with AB, Siemens and Beckhoff machine control and system integration.

Scott Pytel, P. Eng is Co-Owner and VP at MPI. MPI Solutions invited me to tour the facility and chat with the founders.

Kevin van der Maarel is also a Co-Owner and a mechanical engineer. He enjoys the constant change brought about by automation.

What is happening in the world of machine control?

What is Industry 4.0 from your (or your customers') lens?

What type of work...

It brings me great pleasure to welcome two experts in the industry to this edition of TRIP (The Robot Industry Podcast) #141.

Steve Hoenig is a senior executive with expertise in marketing, sales, product design, business development, P/L Management, Strat planning, engineering, and leading complex teams. He is an astute, decisive, and energetic leader recognized for outstanding interpersonal relationships and bottom-line results. 

Few things bring me as much excitement and gratitude as working with a dedicated, close-knit team, working towards a common goal. I graduated in 2015 holding my engineering physics degree with a passion to successfully design and build engineering solutions, learn new things, challenge myself, and meet amazing people along the way. Specifically, my passion covers mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering. My favorite projects, such as building an autonomous vehicle to compete in the NASA lunabotics mining competition as part of the Queen’s Space Engineering team, integrate a large variety of engineering components including control, automation, and mechatronics engineering. Th...

Francois Giguere CTO at Vention and Etienne Lacroix Founder & CEO join me for this version (#139) of The Robot Industry Podcast. We talk about automating at lower costs, the manufacturing industry ordering products directly, AI and NVIDIA and what the future holds for capital equipment automation

We talk about:

Palletizing

Robot arms vs actuators

Sensors vs. cameras

Shift away from PLCs inside robot cell

Robots and grasping

Agility, simulation and software

Cabinet door sanding for the kitchen industry

Data, software and the...

Hello everyone and welcome to The Robot Industry Podcast (edition #138). We are glad you are here, and thank you for subscribing.

Today, I welcome Louis Lapierre to the podcast; he works for a company called Mecademic Robotics, and they build very precise industrial robots for medical devices, photonics, aerospace, consumer and electronics industries. Their robots are used in assembly, attachment, dispense, material handling and much more.

How did you get in this industry? 

Tell us about the history of Mecademic.

What type of robot did the company launch with?

Y...

Welcome to the podcast (#137) My guest today is Shaun Edwards the CTO of Plus One Robotics.

We are going to be talking about Robotics Foundation Models, RFM for short.

Welcome to the podcast Shawn.

Shawn for those who don’t know about your background, can you tell us about what Plus One Robotics is and some of your experience at Southwest Research Institute / Willow Garage?

Let me set this conversation up. 

Vayu Robotics recently announced its ditching LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology and leveraging foundation models for their new...

Welcome to the podcast (#136) My guest today is Ben Huigenbois, he is president of BOS Innovations in London, Ontario, my home town. From Ben's LinkedIn: Experienced President with a demonstrated history of working in the industrial automation industry. Experienced and skilled in leadership, organizational development, ERP system development, skills development, project management, strategic planning, technology deployment, sales and marketing.

Ben, welcome to the podcast, thanks for joining us. How did you get interested in automation? Give us a bit of your background.

Tell our audience about BOS Innovations? What is it that you do, that...