Through working with hundreds of robotics companies over the years, I’ve learned that ‘lean startup methodology’ applies to robotics more than anything. We all know that ‘hardware is hard’ (probably heard that phrase 3 times at ROS World 
). There are many very slow growing companies, that just seem stuck in the development phase forever. And there’s a few that magically seem to figure out how to scale.
Those companies will have ‘robotics’ in their name and pitch deck, but really they try to do the minimum necessary to succeed with their customers. A sidewalk delivery robot? Fully teleoperated, not even straight segments. Worry about that later. A custom built base and sensor suite? Nah, a toy car with a box on and some tried and tested electronics almost duct-taped to it. Works great until ~20 robots in the field. Most companies never get to 20 robots in the first place. I’m seeing non-roboticists outperform teams of fully fledged robotics engineer (don’t roast me, I’m one myself) simply by creating a tool that eventually will become a robot. It seems like the key to building a successful robotics company is to NOT focus on robotics at first.
Clearpath Robotics makes hardware for robotics so you literally don’t have to reinvent the wheel for your first 20 robots. Freedom Robotics makes software for robotics so you don’t have to spend 80% or more of your time on full-stack software engineering. And so it was only natural for them to come together to make the entire process seamless. Check it out:
Once you do hit that magical 20-robot threshold, you’re far from done. Come for the robotic bootstrapping features, stay for the large-scale fleet management and control features!