A new era for embodied AI and robotics developers.
In 2023, I attended a total of 8 robotics conferences, and countless more in previous years, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the industry still needed one more. My rationale was simple: most of the robotics conferences I attended either prioritized academic research or were industry trade shows selling everything from actuators to finished robots. This left a gap—robot developers didn’t have a dedicated space to collaborate and network. Where could developers come together to share knowledge and learn from each other?
We created Actuate to fill this gap—a developer-focused conference with engaging talks and networking opportunities aimed at addressing real-world commercial challenges. Foxglove is perfectly positioned to host an event like this, given our mission to increase the GDP of robotics and our role as a leading robotics development platform. So, we dedicated ourselves to creating the ideal conference for robot developers working on embodied AI and autonomy.
On September 18, 2024, Actuate made its mark as the must-attend robotics development conference. Break and lunch conversations weren’t just casual small talk about “where are you from?” or “how’s the weather?”—instead, they dove into deep robotics topics like calibration, video compression and streaming, and logging frameworks. At the wrap-up happy hour, attendees were asking for copies of the slides to share with their teams. Some even half-joked that we should avoid scheduling Actuate 2025 during Dreamforce week so they could afford to bring more of their team. We agree!
And of course, there were the presenters and their talks. Let’s dive into a recap of each.
Sergey kicked off the day with a deep dive into general-purpose robotic foundation models, drawing parallels to NLP and computer vision. He discussed how large datasets, generalized training objectives, and versatile architectures could reshape robotics, empowering systems to control various robotic platforms.
Michael shared insights into ES-1, a foundational world model Electric Sheep uses in conjunction with reinforcement learning to autonomously perform tasks like mowing and trimming. By using sim2real techniques, they’ve achieved robust simulation-to-reality transfers, automating operations across diverse outdoor environments.
Chris presented the integration of Zenoh into ROS 2 as a promising alternative to DDS. Zenoh simplifies message passing, making ROS 2 easier to configure, deploy, and debug, thus enhancing developer efficiency.
Nick shared how Sanctuary AI developed the machine learning pipeline for Phoenix, their humanoid robot, including their successes and challenges. His talk provided insights into the data, models, and lessons learned in navigating the complex terrain of humanoid robotics.
Jeremy explored calibration techniques for multimodal sensor arrays in autonomous systems. He explained the trade-offs between offline and online calibration approaches, helping developers understand how to balance sensor performance and operational uptime.
James outlined how Blue River’s See & Spray system manages distributed computing nodes and cameras for precise weed detection. He emphasized the importance of robust logging mechanisms that can handle failures like network connectivity issues, crucial for debugging and development.
Kalpana introduced Skydio’s NightSense technology, which enables their drones to navigate autonomously at night, highlighting the innovations driving Skydio X10’s success in low-light environments.
The panel, hosted by Kat Scott (Open Robotics), featuring experts like Allison Thackston (Blue River Technology), Ilia Baranov (Polymath Robotics), Kathleen Brandes (Adagy Robotics), Rajat Bhageria (Chef Robotics), and Simon Box (Resim) emphasized the critical role simulation plays in robotics development. Panelists explored how simulation tools can accelerate prototyping, testing, and deployment, offering insights into how developers can leverage these platforms to refine their robotics solutions.
Karthik detailed the development of the Return to Home feature for Scythe M.52, an autonomous commercial mower. His talk emphasized the critical role of customer feedback in shaping technical decisions throughout the product development lifecycle.
David focused on Farm-ng’s camera-based autonomy stack, which leverages digital twins and deep neural networks to enable autonomous agricultural tasks like scouting and weeding. He shared how the team accelerates development using visualization tools.
Vibhav discussed the complexities of developing reliable software for autonomous ocean drones in unpredictable marine environments. He highlighted the role of simulation, data visualization, and middleware in overcoming these challenges.
Ryan and Rohan shared how Agility Robotics collects, ingests, and analyzes data from robots in remote environments. They highlighted how Foxglove’s tools streamline robot debugging and enable fleet-wide analysis.
Vijay showcased Wayve’s advancements in end-to-end models for self-driving cars, focusing on how these models are accelerating the deployment of robust autonomous vehicles in real-world scenarios.
The day concluded with Brad Porter and myself on stage together, while Brad shared his journey from prototyping to large-scale robotics deployment including large transformation projects he ran while at Amazon. As I conducted an engaging interview style chat, Brad drew on his experience at Amazon and Collaborative Robotics, emphasizing the importance of robust infrastructure, operational efficiency, and scaling strategies to ensure success in industrial automation, but most of all ensuring you’re solving a problem that’s worth solving.
Actuate delivered much-needed developer-centric content, addressing the long-standing lack of resources for robotics engineers. By providing a platform focused on software tools, simulations, and real-world applications, Foxglove is paving the way for a new generation of developers to lead the robotics revolution. Actuate has set a new standard, ensuring that developers are equipped with the knowledge, tools, and community support they need to drive innovation forward. See you at Actuate 2025 (not during Dreamforce week)!
