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Roopinder Tara

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Technology

Bringing technology into focus. We talk to leaders with technology of interest to engineers.

Sep 11

Momentus Space Tug Powered by Unique Plasma Engine

Water turns into plasma then propels spacecraft sounds like science fiction — until you talk to Rob Schwarz, CTO of Momentus. We sit down with Rob to unpack how a microwave electrothermal thruster heats steam, creates a plasma, and pushes it through a nozzle for efficient in-space propulsion, all while avoiding the electrode erosion that limits many electric thrusters. It's also our chance to ask questions about space dynamics, which Rob patiently answers. We zoom out to the business and mission reality of modern spaceflight: small satellites keep getting cheaper, but big rockets and rideshare launches still dominate the cost curve. That’s where an orbital transfer vehicle, the classic space tug idea, promises a “stage four” that can distribute payloads to their operational orbits without forcing every satellite to haul lifetime fuel. Rob explains the staging logic, the refueling problem, and why transfer demand has grown slower than many expected. We talk about Momentus’ modular Vigoride spacecraft, thermal control challenges, and why in-space manufacturing experiments like advanced semiconductor crystal growth may benefit from microgravity’s reduced buoyancy-driven separation. We also tackle the big question people always ask about electric propulsion: why not nuclear, and what the radiator and engineering trade-offs look like in practice.
May 14

Brittany Ng, Siemens Maritime Division, On Getting the US Back in the Game

We sit down with Brittany Mays Ing, VP of Siemens Maritime, right after her US Senate testimony on “Less Hype, More Help” about AI and unpack what industrial AI looks like when you have to build real ships on real timelines. We connect digital twins, copilots, and the digital thread to the biggest constraint shipbuilders face today: talent, throughput, and first-time quality. • Why Brittany gets tapped to speak to Congress about industrial AI across manufacturing • How Siemens Maritime uses the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio plus Altair tools for shipbuilding • Why ship design tools look different from typical CAD and simulation workflows • What a record scale ship digital twin proves about complexity and visualization • Why AI in shipbuilding reduces repetitive work instead of eliminating jobs • How AI helps first-time quality, reduces rework and cuts burnout in shipyards • What “digital thread” means for suppliers, OEMs, and national defense readiness • How commercial, military, and unmanned vessel programs are reshaping the market
May 11

Seeing Around Corners? We Can Do That, says Tristan Swedish of Ubicept

We dig into SPAD photon-counting sensors and why converting photons into bits can change low-light imaging, motion blur, and dynamic range for real perception systems. We also connect the physics of uncertainty to modern AI so vision models stop guessing when the data is ambiguous. • How SPAD arrays work and why they differ from CMOS image sensors • Why SPAD data volume can reach terabytes and how near-sensor processing makes it usable • Photon noise as a physics limit and how integrating over time improves confidence • Motion compensation that enables longer effective exposure without motion blur • Why night color is often a noise problem, not a missing-color problem • How uncertainty-aware imaging can reduce AI hallucinations in computer vision • Automotive and ADAS use cases plus reflections and extreme dynamic range • What “seeing around corners” means using time-tagged light echoes and real constraints
May 6

Ron Close: Marketing in the Age of AI

Research by Ron reveals how AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) ignores conventional sources such as business to business publications and industry analysts, instead citing vendor pages, Reddit, resellers, and even mystery sites. Guidelines proposed on how AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) might work in practice. Comparison reviews may be the clearest path to being sourced by answer enginesRon’s AEO research goalsA prompt-based testing method across ChatGPT and Gemini Missing citations and why vendor or reseller sources get treated as authoritative The CADSoft USA mystery and how high-volume comparison pages get rewarded Why advertising incentives weaken trade media independence and credibility Zero click answers from search engines and how AI previews reduce website traffic Comparison reviews as AEO 101 and the business risk of publishing them The adjacent CAD ecosystem and how LLMs pull in simulation, PDM, and visualization tools The opportunity for a Consumer Reports-style authority for CAD and engineering software
Jan 19

Ivan Tregear, KAIKAKU and Robots In The Kitchen

We explore how purpose-built food assembly robots, computer vision, and better data can push restaurants beyond thin margins and burnout. We share what we learned by running a living-lab restaurant, why we paused it, and how we’re deploying the tech inside partner stores. • Origins in delivery work and engineering • Why restaurants lag in automation • Building a living-lab restaurant for rapid iteration • Pausing the pilot to deploy with partners • Using robots for repetitive prep and assembly • Keeping humans focused on hospitality • Capturing sensor and vision data at the line • Pitfalls of bad “labor optimization” AI • Onshape for fast design, version control and collaboration • Rejecting humanoids for task-specific mechanisms • Expansion paths into catering and hospitality
Jan 1

Richard Chleboski, 24M and a Thousand-Mile Battery that Is Safer By Design

We unpack how 24M combines electrode-to-pack design, a fast, high-conductivity electrolyte, and a sensing separator to aim for thousand-mile range and safer batteries. The talk spans dendrites and thermal runaway, drone-ready shapes, long-duration storage, and real-world paths to scale and recycle. • ETOP packaging for higher energy density and custom shapes • Impervia separator that suppresses dendrites and senses faults • Eternalite electrolyte enabling five-minute charge and late-cycle power • Lithium metal safety strategy and thermal runaway prevention • Drone and aviation use cases with conformable packs • EV vs ESS market dynamics and policy uncertainty • Manufacturing strategy and onshoring with lower risk • Long-duration storage for the duck curve • Binder-free electrodes and closed-loop recycling of LFP and graphite • Tradeoffs, transition costs, and incremental adoption paths
12/30/2025

Dr Mohammad Ashiqur Rahman - AI at FIU

We trace FIU’s early bet on AI, the rise of AI-ready engineering education, and why security research must outpace attackers. From LLM jailbreaks to drone resilience, we share how to validate tools, keep fundamentals strong, and deploy AI safely in the real world. • FIU’s AI strategy across engineering disciplines • Faculty journey from cybersecurity to AI-driven defense • Research strength, funding, and emerging tech focus • AI Summit takeaways from flood modeling to controls • Quantum threats and post-quantum cryptography • LLM jailbreak risks and malware generation • Layered defense and resilience-by-design • Teaching with AI while preserving fundamentals • AI minor structure and discipline-specific courses • Drone security via side-channel sensing and ML • Adversarial ML in cyber-physical systems • Affordability, social mobility, and ROI
12/28/2025

Dr Chris Parkinson and Vuzix' Smart Glasses

We explore how smart glasses moved from bulky prototypes to practical tools, why waveguides make displays vanish into lenses, and how hybrid AI solves the offline problem. Dr. Chris Parkinson explains the tradeoffs between tethered and on-board compute, and where enterprise adoption is outpacing consumer demand. • Waveguides turning thin lenses into bright displays • Tethered glasses as lightweight monitors vs full Android on-head • Enterprise durability, all-day shifts, and safety constraints • Privacy lessons from Google Glass and why context matters • Vuzix strategy supplying components and building solutions • Manufacturing waveguides at scale in the US • Weight, battery, comfort limits and power tradeoffs • Monocular vs binocular displays, resolution realities • Prescription clip-ins and optical placement • AI voice interfaces, cloud vs edge, hybrid workflows
12/21/2025

Inside View - Eduardo Torrealba, Lumafield and X‑Ray Vision of Parts

Eduardo Torrealba, founder and CEO of Lumafield, on how industrial CT gives engineers a safe, fast way to see inside products and make better decisions. He discusses LumaField’s approach to trials, safety, resolution and GD&T from scans. • Value of non‑destructive 3D inspection for complex assemblies • Differences between industrial and medical CT and how shielding works • Try‑before‑you‑buy approach and what it costs • Main manufacturing use cases across batteries, plastics, and electronics • Limits and trade‑offs for resolution, contrast, and dense materials • CAD‑to‑scan comparison and ethical lines around reverse engineering • GD&T from scans as a faster alternative to extensive CMM programs • Company footprint, manufacturing in Massachusetts and software in San Francisco
12/19/2025

Fraser Patterson of Skillit. A Data-First Job Platform Aims to Solves Construction’s Labor Shortage

We talk to Fraser Patterson, CEO and founder of Skillit, about how digitizing skilled trade workers would affect hiring speed and quality, why construction jobs are resistant to AI displacement, and what new data reveals about women entering the trades and pay equity. Practical AI supports recruiters and workers without removing humans from high-stakes decisions. •Diagnosing labor shortage as an access and data problem • Founder’s journey from journeyman carpenter to tech builder • Fuilding data-rich worker profiles and semantic search • Privacy-preserving eligibility checks via co‑pilot outreach • Scale and demand for data center and energy projects • Worker-friendly onboarding designed for deskless realities • Rigorous screening and trade assessments as skill signals • Women in trades data, faster ramp, smaller pay gap • Why construction resists automation and offshoring • AI for scheduling and sourcing with humans in the loop • Focus on US now with future global expansion

10 Episodes

Bringing technology into focus. We talk to leaders with technology of interest to engineers.

Creator

Roopinder Tara
Years Active

2026
Episodes

10
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026 ENGtechnica.TV
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