I work at Empire Robotics, a startup that is developing a unique type of automation tool that relies on the ability of grains contained in a balloon-like membrane to transition between compliant and rigid states to conform to and pick up a wide range of objects, respectively (think about how ground coffee at the grocery store is sometimes in the form of a vacuum-packed brick; once you open the bag, the grains flow easily). Check out some fun demo videos of our first product, VERSABALL®.
After working alongside so many incredibly brilliant and hard-working people during my graduate studies at MIT, I knew that I wanted to work in a similar environment in which I could continue to create and learn at a rapid pace with awesome people. I was also fortunate to be in Boston–an exciting and sprawling innovation hub–and watch many of my peers join and even start their own startups. I knew this was the scene that I wanted to be part of. And my luck doubled because Empire Robotics was a new startup that just moved to Boston and whose technology was directly related to my PhD research at MIT: vacuum-packing grains to enable soft robotic technologies. Here is a demonstration of some of my PhD work, in which we designed a robotic arm that actually uses ground coffee as the vacuum-packable, granular material.
I’m extremely fortunate not only because I get to work at a small but growing company with wonderful people, but because I get to continue to further the academic-type research I conducted as a graduate student and apply it towards a simple yet effective product that can streamline automation processes around the world.
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Nadia Cheng will be sharing her experiences in our panel discussion: “From cutting-edge research to fast growing startups: connecting research, academia and entrepreneurs”, on June 28th.
