That one day, robots shall call out from the mountain tops!

January 15, 2008 1:18 AM

I have a dream! A dream of a robot laboratory. What steps can I take towards one day achieving my dream?

I'm a good programmer, finishing up my study in applied robotics. I'll easily get a job working in my area. But long term, let's say in the next 15 years, there's something I want to do.

I want to own a airplane hanger engineer factory, with a bunch of engineers working on experimental and practical robots. In the middle will be the showcase robot, large, permanently half complete and where all advances in speech recognition and AV processing can be tested.

I have never wanted to do anything else but build robots. I like the machinery, I like the AI and I'm technically savvy enough to do this stuff.

The question is - how do I progress from an employee into starting a business like that? Considering that I have 15 years to plan this out from an idea into reality, and considering the capital intensive nature of this dream, what is a practical way to go about making sure this translates into reality in the future?

posted by markovich to technology (11 comments total)

Get qualified for a business loan, Go to trade shows, Research equipment, Get a business license, Buy, if at all possible, the space, Create a mission statement. Pick a mascot. Get a tattoo.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:42 AM on January 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

15 years to plan a robot? What do you know about what robots will be needed for in 2023? I think the answer to that question is more germane than anything else.
posted by dhartung at 1:55 AM on January 15, 2008

Start making friends with wealthy people. Having connections who can invest a million dollars in angel funding will help you out a lot.
posted by cmonkey at 2:12 AM on January 15, 2008

dhartung: Not to plan a robot. To plan a robot lab. Nothing technology specific.
posted by markovich at 2:32 AM on January 15, 2008

Ha! At first I read the post as someone wanting to build a robot lavatory. Robotic toilet mighty cool but why!?

But have you considered the academic route? PhD in robotics, postdoc in Japan etc...

Then you'll be in a lab from the start. When people notice how damn good you are at building robots you'll get your own lab in no time.
posted by uandt at 2:49 AM on January 15, 2008

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is to build some robots. At least start stockpiling motors for future projects.

It's great to be able to picture the environment you want to be in in the future, but these places are only there because of the things that come out of them.
posted by advicepig at 6:42 AM on January 15, 2008

You need to find people who are knowledgeable about this type of thing, and interested in sharing your dream, who you can count on to join you when the time comes. Figure out a way to meet them, to determine if they are the type of person you want to help you, and how to convince them that your dream is worthwhile and that you are clear-thinking enough to make it happen. Then stay in touch until it's time to write that business plan, and try to get more of a commitment.

Learn about their particular interests and personal missions, and make sure your own meshes with theirs.
posted by amtho at 6:56 AM on January 15, 2008

I realize that your goal is more the laboratory than the robots themselves, but answering the questions "what do I want the robots I build to be able to do" is a question your investors are going to ask. Is your lab going to help devise innovative techniques in robotics? I wish you much luck.
posted by waraw at 7:03 AM on January 15, 2008

Please do not build the robots to be enforcers in your redemption camp...

That said, there are people certainly working at this level in Japan, so I'm guessing you could work on building contacts in your geographic area. For instance, in Europe, you might want to talk to the people at EURON when your ideas are more fleshed out.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 10:09 AM on January 15, 2008

I just wanted to chime in to say I share this dream and have vowed to become your sole competitor (manical laughter). Kidding aside, definitely look into how this is being accomplished in Japan as a previous poster noted...there is plenty of interest in that country on this topic in particular. (I find myself impressed with their many advances in creating human-like androids)
posted by samsara at 12:22 PM on January 15, 2008

I've been thinking along similar lines myself. I think the first big thing is to work out how the lab will be profitable, because even if the entire lab is handed to you on a silver platter, if it can't pay for itself, you WILL lose it. And more realistically, if it can't make ends meet, you will never get it together in the first place.

Yes, robots are interesting, business is boring. But mom told you to you have to eat your vegetables before desert - you've got to come up with a business plan that will reliably generate enough cashflow to pay the salaries of those expensive engineers, not to mention cutting edge tech supplies and consumables, and some very expensive infrastructure, equipment, and tools. If you have a lean patch and can't make salary for a month or two, those people may leave, and then the whole lab goes down the tube.

One possibility (the path I intend to take) is a plan that revolves around constant manufacture of some solid bread&butter products, which funds the R&D wing.

In your case, an option might be military funding of pie-in-the-sky projects, thus cutting out the boring bread&butter and going all r&d.

Whatever path you take, it has to be about commercial success first, and cool-factor second.
posted by -harlequin- at 9:35 PM on January 15, 2008