Six Questions With Milton Walker
Having great components makes great robots; great advocates in turn, create great robot ecosystems
For this issue of Six Questions With, we sat down with Milt Walker III, who works as a technical sales specialist in the Sales and Marketing Group at Intel. Milt is a strong supporter of growing the robotics ecosystem through advocacy and preparing the next generation.
Tell Us About Your Own Robotics Journey
I don’t recall specifically where my Robotics journey started, but there were several pivotal moments that kept me on that journey. One was when one of my favorite toys, Big Trak (the dump trailer portion), broke. Since it was already broken, I took it apart and removed the servo motor. Using a ‘C’ battery to control it, I turned it into a small robot gripper. Talk about being ecstatic! Sometime later, one of my aunts gave me a book, ‘Robots’ by Jasia Reichhardt. And the Star Wars movies reinforced the idea that I’d be working with robots. Eventually, I went to college with the idea that I’d end up building robots. While I didn’t quite follow that path, later in life I found my way back into robotics via an interest in ROBO-ONE. On my second sabbatical at Intel, I visited Tokyo intending to buy a ROBO-ONE robot kit. I ended up with a Kondo KHR-3. Building and learning how to use and add functionality to the KHR-3 was a deep dive into the world of small, embedded platforms, microcontrollers, and sensors. I learned all about controls, servos, computer vision, ROS, and many of the things that have transformed the landscape of robotics today. I still have that robot and still work on it from time to time.
How does Intel approach robotics both internally and externally as a company?
For me, internally as a technical salesperson, it’s about bringing together all the amazing things happening at Intel to benefit the robotics ecosystem. Intel has technology in almost every aspect of computing, from the data center to the edge. That includes networking, computer vision, functional safety, real-time and many other components used to control and provide compute capabilities in robots. Coupled with deep ecosystem partners in every domain that touches computing looking externally. My goal is to really help grow the ecosystem, both in the capability of robots built on Intel technologies, and the kinds of solutions those robots or other automation platforms are a part of.
You are very involved in the Atlanta Robotics community, is Atlanta the next big robotics ecosystem?
Yes! I believe Atlanta is one of the next big robotics ecosystems. There are many reasons for this. With the number and types of companies based in Atlanta, many of them rely on automation and robotics. Many of them are driving the direction of those robotics solutions. This provides lots of opportunities to ask questions, to solve enormous problems. Also, top institutions like Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State University, UGA, Spellman and Morehouse College are here. There is amazing diversity of people and ideas here. There are so many support organizations and ways to interact with other that make the city very well interconnected. Just knowing a few people in Atlanta opens the door to much of the city. This helps in every aspect to make Atlanta the next big robotics ecosystem.
Where do you see the robotics industry in the next five years?
Over the next five years, I expect to see continued excitement around AI, which will in-turn help to grow the scope of what robot can do and the kinds of use-cases that can be tackled. There will be amazing solutions in needed spaces from agriculture to the warehouse. I expect to see continued growth and verticalization of solutions, including mergers and acquisitions. I also expect to see continued startup activity in the industry. As more funding sources open up to the idea of helping grow hardware and deep-tech types of startups, the possibilities will be endless.
What industry do you think will be the next big breakout for robotics?
I think Humanoid robots seem to be having an exciting moment right now. It’s a very exciting space! With all the things happening in AI and software enablement, the confluence of consolidating workloads and software defined “everything”, the hurdles associated with developing interesting and capable code seem to allow creative developers to make amazing advancements. Wow, that was a mouthful. Also, with AI becoming more important at the edge, where much of the data is collected, things will get really interesting.
What is the coolest robot you have recently seen?
That’s a tough question. You and I have both seen lots of robots! I won’t single anyone out, in particular, but I’ll say that functional and whimsical robots that inspire are both very cool. Ultimately, robots that free people from dull, dirty, and dangerous work and allow them to do the kinds of things they would rather do are the coolest.
Big thanks to Milt for joining for the latest Six Questions With edition. Make sure to follow him on LinkedIn.