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The Hardware Entrepreneur

“Software eats the world”, as one famous investor once said it. However, our Earth runs on resources and is based on atoms rather than bits. Our true progress therefore depends mainly on our producing, selling innovative physical products, that is hardware. Hardware is...different. Challenges abound in designing, manufacturing, getting funding, hiring, innovating, delivering to the customers. Resources are scattered around and only a few exist. Where do you get real, practical knowledge? This podcast is the first one for hardware entrepreneurs, where hardware entrepreneurs are interviewed from around the world, exceptional persons who founded startups or small and medium-sized enterprises. This show is for you with a desire to found and run a company in a global environment. Learn first-hand from hardware entrepreneurs who have already gone through the ups and downs of the business. During each episode the INDIVIDUAL stories are uncovered, following up with an ULTRAFAST round of questions at the end. Bringing you these stories is entrepreneur and cosmopolitan, Balint Horvath, based in Switzerland, the land of green pastures and fresh ideas.
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#009 - Commercializing the first robotic touch sensing that uses light, with Ákos Dömötör of OptoForce, Hungary 0
Jan 18, 2017

My guest is Ákos Dömötör, CEO of OptoForce, Hungary.

Ákos Dömötör, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and two Master’s in Management, started out in the global graduate program at LEGO, then taking up a position in Denmark. He then left the creative space in Denmark in 2014 to be the CEO of his venture, OptoForce, in his native land, Hungary. In 2015 OptoForce, producer of force/torque sensors for industrial and service robots, gained a huge revenue growth of 600% and now works with some of the most important robotic companies, universities in the world.

In this episode we bring you the world of robotics closer to you, discussing how they feel, i.e. how they touch, trends in the robotic field, how Ákos and his team differentiates their company from competitors, how they iterated on the business model a number of times to reach the current version that works. We talked about manufacturing aspect, challenges and many more.

In this episode we elaborate on the robotic sensing, the highlights as seen below.

  • Balint’s introduction - [1:47]
  • OptoForce’ technology defined - [2:44]
  • Motivation for joining the company - [3:54]
  • Field of robotics today - [5:28]
  • Differentiation of company from competitors - [9:23]
  • Sensing using light - [11:08]
  • Technological maturity when Ákos joined the company - [14:03]
  • Iterating on the business model - [17:40]
  • Major challenges at the early phase - [19:57]
  • Keeping manufacturing in-house or outsource? - [23:07]
  • Advice to his younger self, while being satisfied with himself - [26:05]
  • The book that most impacted his career - [26:01]
  • His effective morning routine - [28:24]
  • Cultural difference against which he spoke up and the difference he embraces - [30:00]

 

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