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Nicolaus Radford
Radford in 2015
Born
Nicolaus Adam Radford

(1977-11-05) November 5, 1977 (age 47)
Champaign, Illinois, United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPurdue University
Occupation(s)Engineer
Roboticist
Inventor
Entrepreneur
Websitehoustonmechatronics.com

Nicolaus Adam Radford known as Nic Radford (born November 5, 1977) is an American engineer, roboticist, inventor, and serial entrepreneur. He co-founded, and is currently chief technology officer, Houston Mechatronics, Inc (HMI) and also recently founded Jacobi Motors LLC and is also president.[1][2] Prior to forming HMI, he spent 14 years at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center's Dexterous Robotics Laboratory at NASA in Houston, Texas. Radford was the principle investigator tasked with leading the development of Valkyrie for participation in the 2013 DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) and NASA's future Mars robotics missions.

Preceding the DRC, he operated as deputy and chief engineer for Robonaut 2 (R2), a humanoid robot that was developed in partnership between NASA and General Motors.[3] Additionally, during his tenure at NASA, he became a leader in wearable robotics and exoskeletons for spaceflight, rehabilitation, and abled body human performance augmentation.[4][5] Radford is active in the areas of electric motor design towards robotics and electric cars, winning awards for his research in variable flux technology.[6] Radford holds numerous patents, has authored several publications, and earned a BSEE and a MSEE both from Purdue University.[1][6][7] In 2017, Radford was the recipient of the Houston Business Journal's Top 40 Under 40 Award.[8][9]

Early life and education

Nic Radford competing in the high jump

Born in Champaign, Illinois, United States, Radford's family moved to Indiana when he was two months old, settling in Columbus when he was five. He attended Columbus North High School and excelled in track and field, namely high jump, where he set the indoor/outdoor record, and high hurdling, as well as varsity football. He was the 1996 recipient of the Dr. McKain Award for demonstrating "high character as a student and as a citizen in the community."[10] He attended Purdue University and received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2000. While at Purdue, Radford was a member of the Purdue Engineering Student Council and participated in Purdue Track and Field as a decathlete.[11][12] A chronic ankle injury prevented him from pursuing track beyond his freshman year.

After starting his career at NASA-JSC, he attended graduate school remotely at Purdue University and received his Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2012. His research, sponsored by Dr. Gill Pratt of DARPA, was in a new class of electric motors and his thesis was entitled, "Analysis and Design of a Variable Flux Memory Motor for a Humanoid Robot Application."[13][dead link‍] He was the recipient of the Grainger Foundation Outstanding Power and Energy Devices and Systems Award in April 2012, for his contribution to the field of Variable Flux Memory Motors.[6] In 2010, he discussed how his time at Purdue prepared him for his future endeavors, "Purdue is a very hands-on, laboratory- and design-oriented university. This equipped me well for my work at NASA. You truly understand the value of Purdue once you get out and have a little perspective. It offers an education that goes beyond textbooks.[14]

Career

Early career

After graduating from Purdue University with his BSEE, Radford moved to Houston, Texas initially for a position with United Space Alliance as a robotics flight controller in the payload deployment retrieval system (PDRS) console in NASA's Mission Control Center (MCC). During this time, Radford co-founded the Amateur Spaceflight Association,[15] a group of engineers that worked in their free time to become the first amateur group to launch a rocket into space.[16][17] He developed the rocket's avionics and ground control subsystems and was able to secure Rabbit Semiconductor financial support for development of the avionic subsystems.[18] ASA had garnered so much attention that the Houston Chronicle covered the amateur space race competition between themselves and the Civilian Space eXploration Team (CXST), another amateur rocket group with the same aspiration.[19] He then was employed by Oceaneering Space Systems as an electrical engineer contractor to NASA, where he worked onsite at JSC and became involved with the Dexterous Robotics Laboratory. Additionally for five years, he volunteered as a mentor for high school teams competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition, working with Team 118 Robonauts.

NASA

In 2008, Radford became a civil servant at NASA as chief engineer and deputy project manager for Robonaut 2, under Direct Hire Authority (DHA). This allowed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to expedite staffing requests to fill "a critical hiring need."[20][21] He led large multidisciplinary teams of engineering staff in project endeavors for developing Robonaut 2, X1 Exoskeleton,[22][23] DARPA's Warrior Web, as well as leading R2's redesign and qualification efforts for the International Space Station, which flew to ISS aboard Space Shuttle Discovery's final flight STS-133.[1][6][24][25][26][27] In 2011, Radford became the principle investigator for NASA in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). He led a team of 55 engineers and technicians through design, development and field testing NASA's first ever full humanoid robot, created to aid in disaster relief efforts.[1][28][29][30] He used this opportunity to create a very controversial female robot,[31] as a source of inspiration for girls with STEM related endeavors. His team based Valkyrie's form on "armor worn by women throughout history" as well as a "nod to the Valkyries of Norse mythology." Valkyrie's name was also a tribute to previous NASA developed prototypes, including the North American XB-70 Valkyrie bomber, as well as an earlier robot Team 118 Robonauts created for FIRST.

In Slate's 2015 article "Bot Looks Like a Lady", Radford discussed how NASA "missed a big opportunity" to inspire a new generation of women and girls, in maintaining their official stance that Valkyrie is gender neutral. He referred to his then seven-year-old daughter as proof, "She absolutely was in love with this robot. It was a major source of inspiration for her. She talked about it all the time. She drew pictures of Valkyrie." [32] IEEE Spectrum's video where Radford introduced Valkyrie as NASA's Superhero Robot acquired over 2 million views.[33] Radford attempted to shed light on the controversy indicating that Valkyrie was designed to be of the female form from the beginning.[34]

Houston Mechatronics, Inc

Formula E Andretti Car

HMI was established in 2014 with co-founders Matt Ondler and Dr. Reg Berka. Radford leverages his expertise and guides the long range vision of HMI and is "responsible for growing and positioning the company as a robotics and mechatronics leader specializing in both robotics and electrical vehicles."[35] Early in the company's life, in 2015, HMI teamed up with Andretti Technologies to develop a new electric motor for Season Two of Formula E Racing.[36] Due to lack of funding from Andretti, the motor was never fully completed and only saw the initial phase of track testing. In 2016, Andretti announced a new direction for Season Three and each party dissolved their partnership.[37] HMI has secured Series A Funding with Schlumberger Technology Investments and licenses Purdue technology "that could optimize electric motor and design better alternatives in automation in the energy sector."[38] By March 2017, Radford had raised a total of $23M in venture capital funding for HMI by also securing Series B Funding.[39][40]

Radford's expertise in the field of robotics, especially regarding NASA robotic technologies, makes him a sought after consultant.[citation needed] He has given many interviews and several invited talks on the subject.[6][41][42][43] In 2015, he appeared in the documentary 'Ancient Aliens 2015: Aliens and Robots.'[44]

Aquanaut

Radford was the inspiration behind the transformable subsea robot Aquanaut, which has characteristics of both AUV's and ROV's. Recognizing the thought limitations present in the field, he sought to change the accepted notion that subsea robots employed to manipulate the underwater environment need high data rates and must be tethered to a boat.[45][46][47]

Jacobi Motor

Radford is the founder of Jacobi Motor LLC.[48] which he started in 2018 after securing $3M in venture capital funding. After negotiating a technology transfer from Houston Mechatronics, Jacobi Motor spun off from HMI to encapsulate and further develop his ideas regarding variable flue technology, the subject of his graduate work.[49] The company is named after Moritz Von Jacobi who in 1834 is credited with creating the world's first rotating electric motor. Jacobi Motor is focused on developing variable flux electric machines for the automotive sector.

Career achievements

Patents

  • Robot[50]
  • Connector pin and method[51]
  • Method and apparatus for electromagnetically braking a motor[52]
  • System and method for calibrating a rotary absolute position sensor[53]
  • Rotary series elastic actuator[54]
  • Integrated high-speed torque control system for a robotic joint[55]
  • Bipedal exoskeleton and methods of use[56]
  • Re-Configurable Subsea Robot

Publications

  • Editor for Springer Humanoid Handbook[57]
  • The Robonaut 2 Hand – Designed to do Work with Tools[58]
  • Robonaut 2 – The First Humanoid Robot in Space[59]
  • Mobile Manipulation Using NASA's Robonaut[60]
  • Innovative Robot Archetypes for In-Space Construction and Maintenance[61]
  • Forming Human-Robot Teams Across Time and Space[62]
  • Robonaut 2 – Initial Activities On-Board the ISS[63]
  • Valkyrie: NASA's First Bipedal Humanoid Robot[64]
  • Actuator Control for the NASA-JSC Valkyrie Humanoid Robot: A Decoupled Dynamics Approach for Torque Control for Series Elastic Robots[65]
  • Robot Task Commander: A Framework and IDE for Robot Application Development[66]

Awards

In 2014, Radford was awarded the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, one of NASA's most prestigious awards for his efforts developing NASA's Valkyrie Humanoid robot.[1][35] Radford is the 2017 recipient of the Houston Business Journal's Top 40 Under 40 Award. This award honors the brightest young business people who contribute to their companies, industries and community in an impressive way.[67][68]

Notable invited talks

On stage at Campus Party conference

Influences and inspiration

Radford's passion in his pursuit of robotic advances are reflected in his portfolio of experience. It is also a quest of personal significance, having had an ankle replaced in 2010 after years of chronic pain stemming from a collegiate injury. He is quoted in 2012, as he was overseeing the development of NASA's X1,[77] in partnership with the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, a wearable robotic suit, geared toward aiding astronauts with exercise in space and assisting people suffering paraplegia with mobility, "I dream of the day when I can get people out of wheelchairs. I can relate on a very small level. It's been a difficult journey."[23] A flair for the awesome and a visionary, Radford has stated, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing cool,"[78] and "The incredible thing about what we do is, the sky's the limit."[2] He had this advice for Purdue's Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) students, "Learn how to break things. This is vital. It's ok to burn your board up. Don't be afraid to crater your project into a pile of rubble. It's ok to put together your first prototype and have it not quite work right. Do learn to the fullest from your failures. Failures lead to successes. No one, and I mean no one, gets its right the first time."[2]

As one of 17 prominent roboticists to respond to IEEE Spectrum's May 23, 2016 article asking what Google should do with its Boston Dynamics robots, Radford understands the challenge robotics face in the market, "Google is probably one of a handful of companies with the resources to actually solve the humanoid robot challenge. And it is a solvable problem; it just requires some significant investment and tenacity to leave them alone and let them work. But unfortunately, for better or worse, the problems that are making money robotics today and tomorrow on the surface are far less sexy."[79]

Outspoken in his views that robots will not replace workers in industry, Radford has commented on technology's ability to create more jobs than it takes away. In the iQ article ''Will Robotics Save the Manufacturing Industry?'' Radford comments "The thing that I believe technology has always offered is employing people, because in the very near future, less than five years, we will see people working shoulder to shoulder with robots. That’s exactly what [collaborative] technology is bringing to manufacturing right now. The flexibility to stop doing things like we’re building cars, and do things like we’re building crafts—more fine craftsmanship with automation."[80] Aligning himself with Joseph Schumpeter's model of creative destruction, he cites the advent of the ATM as one of the largest unsung 'automation stealing jobs' argument buster, since bank teller employment has outpaced the national average since 2000.[81]

Radford's biggest inspiration is the challenge. According to his interview in IEEE Spectrum's article "Houston Mechatronics Raises $20M to Bring NASA Expertise to Transforming Robot Submersibles," Radford states, "Personally, I’ve found the transition to be invigorating. Starting a company is quite different than working for a government robotics research lab, but probably the biggest difference is the risk posture: startups are all about huge risks for huge returns. There is something so palatable about taking on the entrenched establishment in an industry, calling them out and saying, "I know you’ve been here for a while, but I think you’re doing it all wrong." There’s a reason NASA didn’t start SpaceX; often times established organizations don’t know of any other way to do what they do, and that’s what’s so thrilling about starting a new company— taking the risks."[82]


References

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Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:People from Champaign, Illinois Category:Purdue University alumni Category:NASA people Category:American engineers Category:American roboticists Category:American inventors Category:American businesspeople Category:American chief technologists

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