Shield Spotlight: Ward Shelley
Tell us about your journey to Shield AI. I first heard about Shield AI from a previous coworker who reached out to me and said, “Do you know anything about this company? I just joined and it seems like it might be a good fit for you.” The technology was really cool, but what most […]
Shield AI Fundamentals: On Mapping
The Role of Mapping in Autonomy As is evident in the name, the key component of any autonomous robotic system is its basic autonomy; its loop of perception, cognition, and action which enables a robot to determine what it should do, when it should do it, and how. In the following paragraphs, I will cover […]
Shield Spotlight Tristan Novak
How did you first become interested in engineering? I’ve always enjoyed building things, creating plans and designing something new. I grew up doing a lot of mechanical work and other hands-on activities, such as woodworking, metalworking, and automotive work. As early as elementary school I remember designing things and building them out of wood. I […]
What is Coordinated Exploration?
What is coordinated exploration? In the context of Shield AI, coordinated exploration corresponds to the deployment of multi-robot systems in order to explore an environment. These multi-robot systems collectively develop a structural model of that environment by moving through and navigating around it. Coordinated exploration refers to how the robots decide how to move through […]
Inside Hardware: Thermal System Design
Why do we design thermal systems? Often, when electronics are used they are not 100% efficient. Inefficiency translates to a non-trivial amount of energy released as heat. Thermal systems are often required to properly manage that heat. Why is it important? Without thermal management, eventually an engineered system won’t work anymore; it will overheat. This […]
How Do Robots Learn Through Exploration?
How does learning appear within the context of coordinated exploration? Within the context of exploration, learning emerges the more the system operates. The system improves with operation because the more that it operates, the more experience it acquires about how the actions it takes given the appearance and nature of the environment will impact the […]
Inside Hardware: Designing a Circuit Board
Why are circuit boards important? At the simplest level, circuit boards are the glue that integrates all of the higher-level system features together. Where do you start when designing a circuit board? There is a lot that goes into circuit boards — power regulation, filtering, different communications, buses, and chips — but before you get […]
On Reaching New Milestones
When my brother, Brandon, and I founded Shield AI with Andrew in 2015, we set out to create a defining company in the emerging defense technology sector to serve service members and first responders. We wanted to use AI to protect those who go to war and civilians caught in conflict by providing the best […]
How do Robots Communicate with Each Other?
A conversation with Professor Nathan Michael, Shield AI’s Chief Technology Officer. This is a continuation of our conversation about Trust and Robotic Systems. In terms of multi-robot systems, how do we think about coordination in terms of how robots communicate with each other and learn together? When we talk about multi-robot exploration and teams of […]
Our Philosophy On Professional Development
“What does good leadership look like?” If you were to pose that question to ten people, you would receive ten different answers with some common themes. Each answer would draw heavily from the individual’s personal experiences. One person might describe the leadership of their high school coach, another the style of their favorite college professor, […]
