Alex Levenko

Been in a few startups over the past decade and I haven’t worked with a more bought in, motivated team than the one here.

Not often you get to work on a truly category-defining product. Beyond excited to show the world what we’ve created.

@bryanwon23 @oprydai For sensor field of view studies, it can just be done in CAD by modeling the view cones and just playing with the angles to figure out stuff like blind spots. More complex sims can be done with Ansys Speos or Zemax but it’s better handled in late stage or by suppliers

@alexembodied @oprydai What kind of software does this? I had thought simulation in terms of FEA which probably is overkill at early stage

how to approach a robotics startup as a solopreneur don’t try to build a “robot company.” build a narrow system that solves one real problem. what to focus on: • pick a painful niche → warehouses, farms, inspection. repetitive, costly tasks where automation actually pays. • start with software + simulation → validate perception, control, and logic before touching hardware. faster loops, cheaper mistakes. • buy, don’t build hardware → off-the-shelf arms, mobile bases, sensors. your edge is integration, not reinventing motors. • teleop first → humans in the loop. collect data, understand edge cases, then automate gradually. • data pipeline → logging, labeling, replay. robots improve through data, not just code. • service over product → sell outcomes, not machines. “we pick items for you,” not “we sell robots.” • iterate on-site → deploy early, learn from real environments, fix what breaks. constraints: • capital is tight • iteration is slow • hardware will fail so keep the system small, focused, and revenue-driven from day one. as a solo founder, your advantage isn’t scale. it’s speed of learning and tight feedback loops.

@bryanwon23 @oprydai Simulation can be very useful if scoped properly. For instance, putting a sensor field of view cone in CAD and checking the position is relatively easy and can save a lot of time. Building your first functional prototype with whatever means necessary should still be priority

@oprydai How important is simulation? Vs just 3d printing the parts and testing in real world?

@0x4132 @jefftangx Reposting due to wrong link 😅 downloads.regulations.gov/NHTSA-2025-052… For anyone interested I see they requested FMVSS 108 exemptions but it didn't reference anything on reflex, so I was always super curious how they solved that. My guess was reflex that flipped

@alexembodied @jefftangx yup, they have FMSA exceptions

Overheard in SF: “It’s like an evil Waymo” “Eww”

@emm0sh @BallifJed I’m guessing sintavia, is doing laser sintering. Probably super useful for space and defense where they will buy 1 part for 1 trillion dollars

@BallifJed yeah but… they could make it

who wants to explain to the AI companies what DFM is?

It’s harder to throw a humanoid robot out of your window. Happy to report that our robot is light enough to be thrown out of a window should you feel the need to. 😆

@faraz_r_khan Once I finished up CAD while taking a flight and kicked off a 3D print in the air. And then marveled at the fact that this is actually possible. Honestly it’s a great time to be alive and building no matter if you are software or hardware 😊

I was born a software engineer but nothing in software inspires me like this view.

@faraz_r_khan Cruising 600mph, 50,000ft in the air with internet and getting served snacks and coffee, feeling normal. This is actually kind of insane when you think about the engineering it took to get here lol

AI helped me as a mechanical engineer to move faster. For instance, making calculators to help figure out snap fits/doing static analysis But nuanced things like deciding to accept a 1 month supplier delay to redo the mold or finding out you can just use a cooling fixture to solve warp still can be hard. Money still solves things generally though

In the age of AI, a lot of people are going to learn that engineering was never the bottleneck.

@PhilHKG @aaronistan Agreed that we are improving, but many of the “useful” humanoid robots with power dense motors are surprisingly loud. Especially walking on hardwood flooring.

@aaronistan They are getting better, the little Booster K1’s properly walk heal toe and are super quiet.

And how noisy they are. There are many limitations today that make them a bad consumer product. Great for research labs though.

@PhilHKG @aaronistan But what useful things does that toddler sized robot do anyway?

@davidbhappy @aaronistan Internal combustion engines are made quiet with about 20kgs and 2 meters of steel tubing. And even then it’s only quiet once the engine is warmed up. Making tiny torque dense 80 gram actuators in a very tight package quiet is actually kind of hard.

@aaronistan That'll all get fixed soon and isn't even a huge engineering problem. Humans somehow made internal combustion engines reliable and quiet in modern automobiles so this will be no problem.

@ohitstarik SF is awesome to build, but sometimes too predictable in the people you meet. Oh you are at FAANG/startup, and also like milk tea and hiking? I like the diversity of people in LA, and also the car scene.

Only thing that could make SF better is if it was in LA

@tea_vault @darrelltalksfi It’s worth double checking owners manual. Some cars will have that sticker but then the manual states recommended. If the wording in the owner’s manual states recommended then it’s fine to put regular.

@alexembodied @darrelltalksfi oh, it's definitely no fancy sportscar. i have a sticker inside my honda on the lid cover inside... reads >> "premium unleaded only"

It just cost me $76.68 to fill up my 2013 Honda Accord. I need a Tesla asap.

@tea_vault @darrelltalksfi You can save a good amount of money just putting regular gas in! Unless you have a sports car it makes no difference.

@darrelltalksfi i hear ya. my 2019 civic cost me $69 yesterday at costco for premium. i was cutting it quite close. only 4-miles left of range left on the gas tank.

@cixliv It’s good to also sprinkle in some ex automotive people, they are always pressed to ship and scale relatively complex parts quickly, with high cost down pressure, while also having to follow hundreds of pages of regulations.

SaaS people entering robots is going to be interesting. Robotic people don’t like shipping anything but SaaS people have no idea how to scale hardware. I would bet on people who have shipped hardware to be good robot founders.

@jefftangx Anyone know if these flip when it moves from forward to reverse or vice versa? Or are these side reflex pieces always static?

Last night made something very clear. Robotics is just getting started. Especially for the home. New form factors and new possibilities are everywhere. We’re at the beginning.