Velocity Matters: Practical Tech for Real-World Impact

The best innovations are the ones that make it out of the lab and solve real-world problems. I’m a fan of applied science and technology, but there’s always a gap to bridge, turning deep tech into something accessible for entrepreneurs and operators to deploy and deliver value.

I’m particularly drawn to innovations that democratize access, open new markets, or create practical solutions. Sometimes, this process involves weird, opaque steps like teleoperated data collection. Other times, it’s simply about providing cost-effective tools and platforms that enable smaller teams to move faster. Velocity is key, and anything that helps teams deliver consistent value to their stakeholders is worth pursuing.

Teleoperated Towel Folding Robots

Californian startup Watney Robotics has robots folding towels non-stop. I love robots and believe in a future like Star Wars, with robots of all shapes and sizes working alongside us on everything from general purpose to specialized tasks. But getting there means building, testing, and training systems.

Teleoperation is one of the key ways we’ll bridge this gap. These systems will eventually generalize tasks without relying on remote operators through behaviour cloning and imitation learning. However, there’s a downside: this trend often displaces jobs. Startups tout “autonomous systems,” but these are usually remotely controlled by humans thousands of miles away, creating a kind of labour cost arbitrage.

I respect Watney’s transparency, but we must be honest about what’s happening. Teleoperation is hard and dealing with high latency and limited bandwidth is nearly impossible without robust infrastructure. Still, let’s not confuse teleoperation with true autonomy.

GitHub Copilot: Now Free

GitHub Copilot is now free! This is a huge step forward for accessibility and democratization in coding.

Tools like this allow anyone from hardware engineers to designers to upskill and break into the software side of engineering. By removing cost barriers, Copilot makes AI technologies, software development, and UX/UI design more accessible.

No more excuses. Use these tools to follow good coding practices, build better software, and move faster. I’m especially excited to see how startups, junior engineers, and academia use this to create higher-quality code and drive development velocity.

NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano: Affordable GenAI

NVIDIA’s Jetson Orin Nano developer kit is here, and it’s a game-changer for robotics and edge AI.

This affordable platform simplifies the journey from prototype to production, reducing complexity and accelerating time-to-market. It’s a big win for startups and small teams, enabling them to deploy advanced edge intelligence quickly and cost-effectively.

Hardware like this drives innovation in mobile and embedded systems, making advanced tech more accessible and speeding up the engineering lifecycle.

AutoPatent: AI Meets IP

AutoPatent is tackling one of the least glamorous and most frustrating processes: patents. The back-and-forth between engineers and legal teams is a significant time-sink, but this AI-powered framework hopes to change that.

AutoPatent transforms design notes and early ideas into actionable patent drafts, making the process faster and more efficient. What’s exciting is how this levels the playing field; smaller companies without big legal budgets can finally protect their work.

This is a great example of AI solving real-world pain points: more innovation and less paperwork.