From e214cf4e0fe85464c51af425563256bbed143c1c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Orik Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:29:43 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Add CV guidance and humanoid robotics context notes for Hexagon applications --- .../CV Guidance - Hexagon Applications.md | 164 +++++++++++++++ 02_Projects/Humanoid Robotics Context.md | 199 ++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 363 insertions(+) create mode 100644 02_Projects/CV Guidance - Hexagon Applications.md create mode 100644 02_Projects/Humanoid Robotics Context.md diff --git a/02_Projects/CV Guidance - Hexagon Applications.md b/02_Projects/CV Guidance - Hexagon Applications.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4cb36ac --- /dev/null +++ b/02_Projects/CV Guidance - Hexagon Applications.md @@ -0,0 +1,164 @@ +# CV Guidance - Hexagon Applications + +**Created:** 2026-03-11 +**Status:** Draft +**Related:** [[Hexagon Role Analysis]], [[Job Hunt]] + +--- + +## Purpose + +Concrete, actionable CV tailoring guidance for Hexagon Robotics applications. Focus on motion planning role (primary) and mission control role (secondary). + +--- + +## CV Structure Recommendation + +### 1. Headline (if used) +**For Motion Planning:** "Senior Robotics Engineer | Motion Planning & Autonomous Navigation" +**For Mission Control:** "Senior Software Engineer | Robotics Systems Architecture & Integration" + +### 2. Summary (3-4 lines max) + +**Motion Planning:** +"Senior robotics engineer with 5+ years leading motion planning, localization, and autonomous navigation systems. Specialized in real-time trajectory optimization, MPC, and planning under dynamic constraints. Transitioning expertise from aerial platforms to humanoid robotics with focus on whole-body motion planning." + +**Mission Control:** +"Senior software engineer with proven track record architecting and integrating complex autonomous systems. Led development of end-to-end drone platform integrating perception, planning, and control. Experienced in production-quality robotics software, CI/CD, and cross-team coordination." + +--- + +## Experience Bullet Rewrites + +### Motion Planning Emphasis + +**Current:** (whatever exists about motion planning on CV) + +**Enhanced versions:** + +1. **Global/Local Planning:** + - "Designed and implemented hierarchical motion planning stack combining global path planning (A*, RRT*) with local trajectory optimization for real-time obstacle avoidance." + +2. **Real-time MPC:** + - "Developed MPC-based trajectory tracking running at 100Hz with hardware-in-loop validation, achieving <5cm tracking error in dynamic environments." + +3. **Planning under uncertainty:** + - "Integrated probabilistic obstacle prediction into planning pipeline, enabling safe navigation in partially observable environments." + +4. **Transfer to humanoid:** + - "Architected planning system with extensibility to legged platforms; familiar with whole-body planning concepts and contact-rich manipulation." + +### Mission Control / Integration Emphasis + +1. **System Architecture:** + - "Architected modular flight software stack with clean interfaces between perception, planning, and control layers, enabling rapid integration and testing." + +2. **Integration Leadership:** + - "Led integration of multi-sensor fusion stack (IMU, camera, LiDAR, GPS) with state estimation and control, reducing integration bugs by 40%." + +3. **Production Quality:** + - "Established CI/CD pipelines, automated regression testing, and simulation-to-real workflows for safety-critical autonomous systems." + +4. **Cross-team Coordination:** + - "Coordinated development across perception, planning, and control teams; defined interfaces and integration milestones." + +--- + +## Keywords to Include + +### Motion Planning Role (Primary) +- Motion planning (global/local, sampling-based, optimization-based) +- MPC (Model Predictive Control) +- Trajectory optimization +- Collision avoidance +- Real-time systems +- ROS2 +- C++ / Python +- State estimation / SLAM (secondary but relevant) +- Legged locomotion (learning objective) +- Whole-body planning (learning objective) +- Manipulation planning (learning objective) + +### Mission Control Role (Secondary) +- System architecture +- Integration +- Orchestration +- Mission control +- Behavior trees / state machines +- Distributed systems +- CI/CD +- Production-quality software +- Cross-team coordination +- ROS2 +- C++ / Python + +--- + +## Keywords to De-emphasize + +### For Motion Planning Role +- Hardware design (not relevant) +- Business development (not relevant) +- Frontend/web development (not relevant) + +### For Mission Control Role +- Deep learning specialization (overemphasis could signal ML focus over systems) +- Pure simulation work without real-robot validation + +--- + +## Cover Letter Points + +### Motion Planning (Primary) + +**Paragraph 1:** "I've spent the last 5 years building motion planning systems for autonomous drones, from global path planning to real-time MPC-based trajectory tracking. Your Motion Planning Engineer role is exactly the kind of deep technical work I'm looking for." + +**Paragraph 2:** "At [previous company], I led the planning stack development for [platform]. Key achievements: [2-3 specific accomplishments with metrics]." + +**Paragraph 3:** "I'm transitioning to humanoid robotics because the whole-body planning problem is the next frontier in motion planning. The challenge of coordinating locomotion and manipulation under contact constraints is where I want to build expertise." + +### Mission Control (Secondary) + +**Paragraph 1:** "I've spent the last 5 years building integrated autonomous systems, from perception to control. Your Mission Control role matches my experience architecting the orchestration layer that ties robotic subsystems together." + +**Paragraph 2:** "At [previous company], I architected the flight software stack integrating perception, planning, and control. Key achievements: [specifics]." + +**Paragraph 3:** "I'm interested in Hexagon because [specific reason about humanoid robotics and Zurich]." + +--- + +## Gaps to Address + +### For Motion Planning Role +- **Legged locomotion:** Acknowledge gap; show learning plan (e.g., "Currently studying whole-body motion planning for legged systems through [resources]") +- **Manipulation planning:** Highlight any arm/gripper experience; if none, show awareness of the domain +- **Contact-rich planning:** New area; position as learning opportunity + +### For Mission Control Role +- **Behavior trees / SMACC:** Research and mention awareness +- **Distributed systems:** Expand any multi-process/multi-node architecture experience + +--- + +## Pre-Application Checklist + +- [ ] Update CV with motion planning emphasis +- [ ] Tailor summary for each role +- [ ] Add specific bullet rewrites for planning/integration experience +- [ ] Review LinkedIn profile alignment +- [ ] Prepare cover letter points +- [ ] Research Hexagon Robotics recent news for talking points +- [ ] Prepare questions about team structure, technical stack, growth trajectory + +--- + +## Notes + +- Be honest about gaps; show learning trajectory +- Concrete specifics > generic claims +- Metrics and outcomes wherever possible +- Tailor slightly for each role (motion planning vs mission control have different emphasis) + +--- + +**Tags:** #job-hunt #cv #hexagon #career \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/02_Projects/Humanoid Robotics Context.md b/02_Projects/Humanoid Robotics Context.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c711284 --- /dev/null +++ b/02_Projects/Humanoid Robotics Context.md @@ -0,0 +1,199 @@ +# Humanoid Robotics Context + +**Created:** 2026-03-11 +**Status:** Draft +**Related:** [[Hexagon Role Analysis]], [[Job Hunt]], [[Career]] + +--- + +## Why Humanoid Robotics Matters Now + +Humanoid robots are having a moment. After decades of research and failed commercial attempts, several factors have converged to make humanoids viable: + +1. **Hardware costs dropped** - Actuators, sensors, compute have become affordable +2. **AI/ML matured** - LLMs enable natural language interfaces; vision systems are robust +3. **Labor shortages** - Aging populations in developed nations create demand for automation +4. **Investment flood** - Billions in VC and corporate funding since 2022 + +This isn't speculative anymore. Real companies are deploying real robots in warehouses, factories, and soon homes. + +--- + +## Key Players (2026) + +### Tier 1: Serious Contenders + +| Company | Focus | Funding/Backing | Status | +|---------|-------|-----------------|--------| +| **Tesla Optimus** | General-purpose, mass production | Tesla internal | Aggressive timeline, targeting 2025 production | +| **Figure AI** | General-purpose, enterprise | $675M (2024) + OpenAI partnership | Pilots with BMW, other manufacturers | +| **Agility Robotics** | Warehouse/logistics | $150M+ | Digit in production, deployments with Amazon | +| **Boston Dynamics** | Atlas platform | Hyundai | Advanced R&D, shifting to production | +| **1X Technologies** | Security/home | $100M+ | NEO robot in pilot deployments | + +### Tier 2: Emerging / Specialized + +| Company | Focus | Notes | +|---------|-------|-------| +| **Apptronik** | Industrial humanoid | NASA heritage, Apollo robot | +| **Sanctuary AI** | Cognitive robots | Phoenix robot, Canada-based | +| **Unitree** | Low-cost humanoids | Chinese, H1 model ~$100K | +| **Fourier Intelligence** | Rehab robotics | Chinese, GR-1 humanoid | +| **Pal Robotics** | Research platforms | Spanish, TIAGo family | + +### Corporate Initiatives + +| Company | Notes | +|---------|-------| +| **Hexagon Robotics** | New division (2025), Zurich-based, precision heritage | +| **Toyota Research Institute** | Long-term research, robotics focus | +| **Honda** | ASIMO heritage, renewed interest | +| **Samsung** | Investing in robotics startups | + +--- + +## Technical Landscape + +### Core Challenges (Still Unsolved) + +1. **Locomotion** - Bipedal walking on uneven terrain, dynamic balance, recovery from pushes +2. **Manipulation** - Dexterous hands, contact-rich manipulation, tool use +3. **Perception** - Real-time scene understanding, object recognition, human intent +4. **Planning** - Whole-body motion planning, task-level planning, real-time execution +5. **Control** - MPC for underactuated systems, contact dynamics, safety +6. **Integration** - Bringing it all together in real-time + +### Why These Challenges Are Hard + +- **Underactuation:** Humanoids have fewer actuators than degrees of freedom +- **Contact dynamics:** Contact forces are discontinuous, hard to model +- **Real-time constraints:** Planning/control must run at 100+ Hz +- **Safety:** Robots near humans require fail-safety + +### State of the Art + +**Locomotion:** +- MPC-based walking controllers (Boston Dynamics, IHMC) +- Learning-based approaches (reinforcement learning for robustness) +- Hybrid dynamics modeling + +**Manipulation:** +- Contact-implicit planning +- Learning from demonstration +- Tactile sensing integration + +**Planning:** +- Whole-body motion planning (still research-level) +- Behavior trees for task orchestration +- Integrated perception-planning-control + +--- + +## Market & Career Implications + +### Why Work in Humanoids Now? + +1. **Timing:** Industry is transitioning from research to early deployment +2. **Skills:** Robotics generalists with deep expertise in one area are valuable +3. **Network:** Early players will shape the industry for decades +4. **Mobility:** Skills transfer across robotics domains + +### Career Paths + +**Technical IC:** +- Senior Engineer → Staff Engineer → Principal Engineer +- Deep expertise in planning, control, perception, or manipulation +- Can stay technical indefinitely if desired + +**Technical Leadership:** +- Senior Engineer → Tech Lead → Engineering Manager → Director +- Requires cross-team coordination and people skills +- System architects often move into leadership + +**Founding / Early-stage:** +- Join early-stage company, get equity +- High risk, high reward +- Best if you want ownership and can tolerate uncertainty + +### Skills Premium + +**High-value skills:** +- Whole-body motion planning +- MPC for underactuated systems +- Contact-rich manipulation +- Real-time control systems +- Integration architecture + +**Commoditizing skills:** +- Basic ROS proficiency +- Simulation setup +- General Python scripting + +--- + +## Hexagon Robotics Position + +**What we know:** +- New division (2025) of Hexagon AB +- Based in Zurich +- Developing humanoid robots +- Parent company is global leader in precision measurement and metrology + +**Implications:** +- **Stability:** Backed by large, profitable parent (less startup risk) +- **Precision focus:** Hexagon's heritage suggests emphasis on precision manipulation +- **Industrial applications:** Likely targeting manufacturing, quality control +- **Zurich ecosystem:** Strong robotics cluster (ETH Zurich, multiple companies) + +**Career assessment:** +- Early-stage opportunity with growth potential +- Less equity upside than VC-backed startups, but more stability +- Technical work likely focuses on precision manipulation and industrial applications +- Good location for Claudio (Zurich-based) + +--- + +## Learning Resources + +**Locomotion:** +- "Legged Robots That Balance" - Marc Raibert (classic) +- IHMC walking controller papers +- Boston Dynamics Atlas papers/videos + +**Whole-body planning:** +- "Whole-Body Motion Planning" literature (ROS, IROS conferences) +- Contact-implicit trajectory optimization papers + +**Manipulation:** +- "Robotic Manipulation" course (CMU, Stanford online) +- Dexterous manipulation literature + +**General:** +- RSS (Robotics: Science and Systems) conference +- IROS, ICRA conferences +- Robohub.org for industry news + +--- + +## Open Questions for Hexagon Application + +1. What's the team size? (Early = more ownership, later = more structure) +2. What's the technical stack? (ROS2? Custom? Simulation tools?) +3. What's the application domain? (Industrial? Service? General-purpose?) +4. How does Hexagon's metrology heritage influence the robot design? +5. What's the trajectory? (Research prototype → product timeline?) +6. Team culture? (Research-heavy? Engineering-heavy? Product-driven?) + +--- + +## Notes + +- Industry is real this time, not just hype +- Technical challenges are hard but solvable +- Career timing is good: early deployment phase +- Hexagon = stable parent + early-stage opportunity +- Focus on motion planning and integration roles matches market demand + +--- + +**Tags:** #humanoid-robotics #industry-context #career #hexagon \ No newline at end of file