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Alumni Profile: Erik Schluntz ’07

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Where Are We Now?

Where Are We Now?

An office security robot from Cobalt Robotics. Image courtesy of Cobalt Robotics.

ENGINEER + ENTREPRENEUR

Erik Schluntz ’07

As an engineer and entrepreneur, Erik Schluntz ’07 says he is constantly looking for problems to solve or processes to make things more efficient. In particular, Erik is passionate about automation and data analysis. After graduating from Harvard University with master’s and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering, Erik co-founded and serves as chief technology officer of Cobalt Robotics, a company that builds autonomous security guard robots for offices, data centers, and warehouses. Recently, Forbes named Erik to its prestigious “30 Under 30” list, an annual encyclopedia of “creative disruption featuring 600 young stars in 20 different industries.”

“For students interested in any kind of engineering or science, have fun and don’t forget to play around. Creativity beats memorization every time.” -erik schluntz ’07

When and how did you develop your passion for robotics?

I was always interested in science and engineering growing up. When I got to high school, I joined the newly created robotics team at Potomac School and quickly fell in love with the fast pace and competitive problem-solving. It was very satisfying to see a machine we had created move around on its own and do exactly what we intended!

What were some of your favorite classes and activities at Norwood?

Science class was always my favorite, especially the more creative and hands-on projects. I remember the “Sludge Project” in eighth grade, where we had to use the techniques we’d learned all year to figure out all the di erent chemicals that made up our mysterious sample. I also remember a project in seventh grade where we had to take water samples around a fictional town and locate the cause of a chemical spill. These projects reminded me that science wasn’t just something in a book, but something I could use to make a di erence in the world.

What do you think are some of the best applications for robots now and in the future?

Some of the best applications for robots are “dull, dirty, or dangerous” tasks that are simple and repetitive for a robot to do, and a person wouldn’t want to do themselves. It used to be that robots could only handle extremely repetitive tasks, like welding exactly the same part on a car over and over again, but technology has just recently improved to allow them to handle more uncertainty. For instance, moving around an o ce building to do nighttime security. Robots still can’t manipulate objects or pick things up very well, so hopefully that will improve in the future.

How important is human interaction when employing autonomous robots, like the security robots designed at your company, Cobalt?

Human interaction is incredibly important for our robots at Cobalt because security is fundamentally about people. Whenever our robot detects a person in your o ce building or warehouse at night, it actually video calls one of our own robot specialists to talk to the person and make sure they’re allowed to be there, just like a human security guard would. Even for robots that only rarely interact with people, it’s very important to be safe, because humans can be unpredictable.

Are you comfortable with the idea of self-driving cars?

I think self-driving cars are 95% there, but in all kinds of engineering, the last 5% can take more than half of the work. People aren’t 100% perfect drivers either though, so I think self-driving cars will win out in a few years!

What are some of your favorite Norwood memories?

I made a lot of great friends at Norwood and still regularly talk to and see many of them! Some of my favorite memories are of us just spending time playing and learning with great people.

Can you offer some advice for Norwood students thinking about a career in robotics?

For students interested in any kind of engineering or science, have fun and don’t forget to play around. Creativity beats memorization every time, and I learned way more in high school and in college by building things with my friends than I did in classes.

What’s a typical day like for you at Cobalt?

Cobalt is growing fast, so a lot of my time now is spent building our team and recruiting the best engineers I can find. I also manage all the di erent teams working together to make sure the electrical, the mechanical, and the software all fit together at the end.

How do you like to spend your time off?

I hike, mountain bike, read science fiction, and play board games with friends.

If you could design a robot to take care of some of the tasks of your life, what would be on his/her to do list?

Doing the dishes! It would be great to wake up in the morning and find the dishes left out from dinner the night before back in the cabinet. A dishwasher saves a good chunk of time, but the perfect technology would be fully transparent—you wouldn’t even have to think about the dishes.

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