The Evolution of RE2 Robotics

Welcome to Episode 40 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Join us each week for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community.

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This week, Mike and I spoke with Jorgen Pedersen, president and CEO of RE2 Robotics, and Travis Schneider, business development manager of RE2 Robotics. We discussed the evolution of the company, which was founded in 2001. RE2 was focused nearly 100% on defense work in 2016, but now the defense sector accounts for less than one-third of its business.

We also discussed RE2 Robotics’ new Sapien line of intelligent robotic arms that launched earlier this week. The arms, which were originally engineered for the rugged requirements of the U.S. military, can operate in both structured and unstructured environments, including outdoors in harsh weather and in constrained indoor settings like operating rooms. The arms feature high strength-to-weight ratios, precise control, and dexterity that matches or exceeds the performance of human arms.

RE2 Robotics’ Sapien robotic arm. | Credit: RE2 Robotics

Mike and I also recap some of the week’s top stories, including a resurfaced video that shows a self-driving car developed by a professor in South Korea back in 1995. The Ingenuity Helicopter achieved a couple of milestones this week as it gears up for the first attempted flight on another planet. We also hit on Sarcos Robotics announcing it’ll go public via SPAC and a new heavy-duty autonomous mobile robot from Otto Motors.

If you would like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the podcast, or if you have recommendations for future guests or segment ideas, contact me. For sponsorship opportunities of The Robot Report Podcast, contact Courtney Nagle for more information.

Podcast timestamps

0-1:08: Ad Reads
1:09-10:05: Show Intro
10:06-56:50: Conversation with Jorgen Pedersen and Travis Schneider of RE2 Robotics
56:50-59:03: Futek Engineering Tip of the Week
59:03-1:14:07: News Recap
1:14:08-1:15:45: Show Outro