When Robots Fail, Adagy Prevails: A Look into Remote Intervention Services

What is Adagy Robotics?

Adagy Robotics, a groundbreaking start-up founded in 2023 and based in New York, is on a mission to solve a critical issue in the robotics industry: reliability. With a small yet highly skilled team of two co-founders, Rosalind Shinkle and Kathleen Brandes, Adagy Robotics offers a remote intervention service designed to rescue robots when they fail. This innovative solution ensures that robots can operate seamlessly, reducing downtime and increasing efficiency for users across various industries.

Why Do Robots Need Rescuing?

Despite significant advancements in robotics, robots still face numerous challenges, particularly when it comes to reliability in real-world environments. For example, an autonomous tractor might misinterpret tall grass as an impenetrable barrier, leading to operational failures. Such issues are not only frustrating for end users, such as farmers who have invested heavily in autonomous machinery, but also for robotics companies striving to achieve near-perfect reliability. These failures can disrupt operations, lead to financial losses, and diminish trust in robotic solutions. Adagy Robotics addresses these challenges by providing a 24/7 remote intervention service that ensures quick recovery from failures and enhances overall robot reliability.

How Does Adagy Robotics Solve the Problem?

Adagy Robotics has developed a unique solution to tackle the reliability issues plaguing the robotics industry. Their service involves a combination of trained human operators and advanced generative AI. When a robot encounters a problem, it sends a signal to Adagy’s API. The company’s operators then take control of the robot remotely, navigating it back to a safe and functional state. This intervention allows the robot to resume autonomous operations with minimal downtime. Key features of Adagy’s service include:

Real-time Support: Adagy provides 24/7 intervention services, ensuring that robots can be rescued at any time.
Transparency and Accountability: The company notifies site staff before taking control of a robot, provides detailed incident reports after each rescue, and maintains an auditable log of all failures and actions taken.
Proactive Solutions: Adagy highlights repeat failures, enabling clients to address underlying issues and improve their robotic systems.

Who Are the Founders of Adagy Robotics?

Adagy Robotics was founded by two accomplished professionals in the field of robotics and machine learning, Rosalind Shinkle and Kathleen Brandes. Both founders bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the company:

Rosalind Shinkle (Ros): As the CEO of Adagy Robotics, Ros leads the company with her extensive background in robotics engineering. Prior to founding Adagy, she was a Staff Robotics Engineer at Boston Dynamics, where she played a pivotal role in developing algorithms for the Spot Manipulation team. Ros’s work involved engineering the algorithms that enable the Spot arm to interact with the world, such as inspecting manufacturing lines and handling sensitive objects. She holds a BSE in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics and a Master’s in Robotics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kathleen Brandes: Serving as the CTO of Adagy Robotics, Kathleen brings her expertise in machine learning and robotics to the company. Before Adagy, she was a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Tesla, where she developed end-to-end neural networks for manipulation policies on the TeslaBot and algorithms for autonomous lane changes for Tesla Autopilot. Kathleen holds two B.S. degrees from MIT in computer science and mathematics.

Together, Ros and Kathleen are committed to enhancing the reliability of robots and driving the success of Adagy Robotics.

What Challenges Does Adagy Robotics Address?

The primary challenge that Adagy Robotics addresses is the frequent failure of robots in various environments. These failures often stem from robots misinterpreting their surroundings, leading to operational disruptions. This issue is particularly problematic for industries that rely heavily on autonomous robots for critical tasks. Adagy’s remote intervention service ensures that robots can quickly recover from failures, thereby increasing their overall reliability and efficiency. By providing real-time support and collecting valuable data on robot failures, Adagy helps robotics companies improve their products and gain insights into common failure points.

How Does Adagy’s Remote Intervention Service Work?

Adagy’s remote intervention service is designed to operate around the clock, providing real-time support to robots in distress. The process begins when a robot encounters a problem and sends a signal to Adagy’s API. Trained human operators, assisted by generative AI, take over the robot’s controls remotely. They navigate the robot back to a safe and functional state, ensuring that it can resume autonomous operations with minimal downtime. The service is designed to be highly transparent and accountable, with features such as:

Pre-Intervention Notifications: Adagy notifies site staff before taking control of a robot, ensuring that they are aware of the intervention.
Detailed Incident Reports: After each rescue, Adagy provides comprehensive incident reports, detailing the nature of the failure and the actions taken to resolve it.
Auditable Logs: The company maintains an auditable log of all failures and actions, allowing clients to review and understand the interventions performed.
Proactive Highlighting of Repeat Failures: Adagy proactively highlights repeat failures, enabling clients to address underlying issues and improve their robotic systems.

Why is Reliability Crucial in the Robotics Industry?

Reliability is a cornerstone of successful robot deployment. For robots to be widely adopted and trusted in various industries, they must operate with minimal failures. Unreliable robots can lead to significant operational disruptions, financial losses, and a lack of trust in robotic solutions. Adagy Robotics addresses this critical issue by providing a remote intervention service that ensures robots can quickly recover from failures. This not only enhances the overall reliability of robotic systems but also enables companies to deploy and scale their robots with confidence, knowing that any failures will be promptly and effectively managed.

What Role Does Data Play in Adagy’s Strategy?

Data is at the heart of Adagy’s strategy to improve robot reliability. Every intervention is meticulously logged, with detailed reports on the nature of the failure and the actions taken to resolve it. This data is invaluable for identifying common failure points and developing strategies to prevent them in the future. As Adagy collects more data, its machine learning models will become increasingly adept at handling edge cases, reducing the need for human intervention and enhancing the overall reliability of robotic systems. The company’s data-driven approach not only helps improve their services but also provides robotics companies with insights to enhance their products.

How Does Adagy Ensure Safety and Trust?

Safety and trust are paramount in Adagy’s operations. The company has implemented several measures to ensure transparency and accountability in their remote intervention service. Before taking control of a robot, Adagy notifies the site staff, ensuring that they are aware of the intervention. Detailed incident reports are provided after each rescue, offering transparency and accountability. An auditable log of all failures and actions is maintained, allowing clients to review and understand the interventions performed. Additionally, Adagy proactively highlights repeat failures, enabling clients to address underlying issues and improve their robotic systems. These measures ensure that clients can trust Adagy’s services and feel confident in the reliability of their robots.

What is the Future Vision for Adagy Robotics?

Adagy Robotics envisions a future where robots are more prevalent and reliable in various industries. By continuously improving their remote intervention service and integrating advanced machine learning models, Adagy aims to reduce the frequency and impact of robot failures. The ultimate goal is to create a world where robots can operate autonomously with minimal human intervention, making them a dependable and integral part of daily operations in multiple sectors. Adagy plans to layer in their own machine learning models to assist human operators, improve efficiency, and eventually offer predictive failure prevention and software-only supervision. This forward-thinking approach positions Adagy Robotics as a key player in the future of robotics.

How Did the Founders’ Backgrounds Shape Adagy Robotics?

The founders of Adagy Robotics, Rosalind Shinkle and Kathleen Brandes, have backgrounds that uniquely position them to address the challenges of robot reliability. Ros’s experience at Boston Dynamics involved developing algorithms for the Spot Manipulation team, where she engineered the algorithms that enable the Spot arm to interact with its environment. This experience provided her with deep insights into the complexities of robot interactions and the importance of reliability. Kathleen’s work at Tesla focused on developing neural networks for the TeslaBot and algorithms for autonomous driving. Her expertise in machine learning and robotics has been instrumental in shaping Adagy’s approach to integrating AI with human intervention. Together, their combined experiences have driven the development of Adagy’s innovative remote intervention service.

How Does Adagy Plan to Scale Its Services?

As Adagy Robotics continues to grow, the company plans to scale its services by integrating more advanced machine learning models and expanding its team of trained operators. The data collected from interventions will be used to improve their AI models, enabling them to handle a wider range of edge cases and reduce the need for human intervention. Adagy also plans to offer predictive failure prevention and software-only supervision, allowing clients to benefit from their services without the need for continuous human oversight. By continuously refining their services and expanding their capabilities, Adagy aims to support a larger number of robots and ensure their reliable operation in various industries.

Conclusion

Adagy Robotics is at the forefront of solving one of the most critical challenges in the robotics industry: reliability. With their innovative remote intervention service, Adagy ensures that robots can quickly recover from failures, allowing companies to deploy and scale robotic solutions with confidence. The expertise of founders Rosalind Shinkle and Kathleen Brandes, combined with a commitment to data-driven improvements, positions Adagy Robotics as a key player in the future of robotics. As the company continues to evolve, it aims to create a world where robots are not just functional, but highly reliable and trusted by all. With their forward-thinking approach and dedication to enhancing robot reliability, Adagy Robotics is poised to make a significant impact on the robotics industry and pave the way for a future where robots are an integral part of our daily lives.