Company

Kevin leads the development and execution of Augean’s operations strategy and is responsible for building the machine that builds the Burros. Prior to joining Augean, Kevin gained extensive experience launching, scaling, and improving manufacturing and supply chain operations in large-scale and start-up environments at Tesla and for clients of Deloitte Consulting. Most recently, Kevin applied his operational mindset to developing TE Connectivity’s corporate and distribution go-to-market strategies, with an emphasis on implementation and value capture. Kevin’s passion for bringing impactful products to market was reinforced while obtaining an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, a MS in Supply Chain Systems Engineering from MIT School of Engineering, and a BS in Systems Engineering from University of Pennsylvania.

Vanessa is focused on building an inclusive and equitable culture at Burro. She strongly believes that happy employees make happy customers. As a member of the Senior Leadership team, Vanessa handles investor relations, manages Burro’s legal team, and drives organizational structure as the company continues to grow. Vanessa also works to hire, attract, and retain a world-class team of robot-enthusiasts working to solve the most pressing issues in the agriculture industry. She received her B.A from Ursinus College and J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law. Vanessa loves to spend time with her long-haired dachshund and is a big supporter of the vibrant Philadelphia art scene, including museums and the ballet.

Terry leads the development of a unified technical vision, architecture, and autonomy roadmap with Augean Robotics. Prior to Augean, Terry worked as a robotic software developer with COSY, and as a design engineer/project manager with a large manufacturer supplying African railroads. Terry received his PhD from University of Oxford’s Robotic Institute where his research focused on computer-vision-based autonomous navigation and mapping, and a BSc in Electro-Mechanical Engineering from University of Capetown. He grew up in South Africa where he gained a love for machinery and robotics.

Rohit leads product management at Burro and is focussed on building the next generation of farm robots. Prior to Burro, Rohit has led product and engineering in the self-driving vehicle industry, including Cruise and Waymo, and built warehousing robots at Google X. He received his BTech from Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Guillermo is Burro’s VP of engineering. He is focused on bringing operational excellence and engineering craftsmanship to the engineering team. Prior to Burro, Guillermo spent 15 year working in the automotive industry. He was the Director of Planning, Controls and HMI at Woven Planet and the Toyota Research Institute in California. Also, Guillermo worked for 12 years for the ADAS and AD departments of Renault in Paris and Nissan in Japan developing and shipping to production chassis control and ADAS/AD systems. He received his PhD in controls theory from Centrale Supelec in France and 2 masters degrees in electrical engineering and applied mathematics from Supelec and Paris Sud. He has 15 papers and over 60 patents.

Don leads the sales, marketing, and business development teams at Burro and is focused on executing an aggressive growth effort within new and existing market segments. Don has held several senior executive roles with SMB tech companies including several startups and owner founder entities spanning multiple industries. Don has an MBA from IESE (Barcelona) and in 2019 completed a Master of Data Science at Northwestern University. Don was raised among the farms and ice hockey arenas of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Vibhor builds Burros and his software controls them. He develops many of the computer-vision approaches to localization and autonomy with Augean Robotics. Prior to Augean, Vibhor worked as a researcher at Lehigh’s Vader Labs where he specialized in accurate infrastructure free outdoor localization, and as a software engineer at Samsung. He received a Masters in Electrical/Electronics Engineering from Lehigh University, and a bachelors degree in Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering from Manav Rachna International University in Faridabad, India.

Charlie grew up on a fruit, vegetable, and livestock farm. This experience lead him to believe that all tedious farm labor should be automated, and simultaneously to understand the many challenges that robots face in agriculture. He founded Augean Robotics (now known as Burro!) after gaining experience with Case New Holland, John Deere’s largest competitor, where he reported to the head of the North American operating unit and worked on special projects across sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, and autonomy M&A. He received a BA from Amherst College, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Shreshtha is a robotic software engineer at Burro. She builds motion planning and perception algorithms that leverage computer vision and AI to enable Burros to better understand, travel through, and manipulate their environment. Prior to joining Burro, she developed pick and place applications using robot manipulators and perception features for autonomous vehicles for Wipro Limited, and held engineering roles with Refraction AI and Honda. She received her Masters Degree in Robotics from University of Michigan, and her BE in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from R.V. College of Engineering in Bangalore. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, playing basket ball and singing with her guitar.

Stephen designs and builds the mechanical components of Burro. Prior to working at Augean, Stephen was a Lead Structural Engineer at SpaceX for ten years, where he worked on the mechanical components of the Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon Spacecraft. Stephen also worked at Space Systems Loral, where he contributed to the development of satellite structures. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Engineering Management from Cornell University.

Mona is a robotics engineer at Burro, where she focuses on robot localization and mapping. Previously she has worked as a software developer at Quandl Inc. She received her PhD from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, where her research centred on long-term visual localization. Additionally, Mona completed a MSc in Computing Science at the University of Alberta and a BSc in Computer science at the University of Toronto.

Camillo J. Taylor is currently the Raymond S. Markowitz President’s Distinguished Professor with the Computer and Information Science Department and GRASP Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Taylor received his A.B. degree in Electrical Computer and Systems Engineering from Harvard College in 1988 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University in 1990 and 1994 respectively. Dr. Taylor was the Jamaica Scholar in 1984, a member of the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and held a Harvard College Scholarship from 1986-1988. From 1994 to 1997 Dr. Taylor was a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the faculty of the Computer and Information Science Department at the University of Pennsylvania in September 1997. Dr Taylor’s research interests lie primarily in the fields of Computer Vision and Robotics and include: reconstruction of 3D models from images, vision-guided robot navigation and scene understanding. Dr. Taylor has served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions of Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence. He has also served on numerous conference organizing committees he is a General Chair of the International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV) 2021 and was a Program Chair of the 2006 and 2017 editions of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition and of the 2013 edition of 3DV. In 2012 he was awarded the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania.

Abhilesh develops Burro’s localization layer – enabling burros to know where they are using primarily vision-based algorithms . Prior to joining Augean, Abhilesh was part of the DARPA-Subterranian Challenge’s Planning and Navigation team for Colorado School of mines. He also worked on multi-camera system calibration and obstacle avoidance at the M3Robotics Lab at Colorado School of mines. He received his master’s degree with focus in Robotics from Colorado School of Mines and a Bachelor’s degree at Manipal University Jaipur, India.

Chao designs and develops the electrical and embedded systems of Burro. Prior to working at Augean, Chao obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. Minor in Electrical Engineering at North Carolina State University where his research focused on developing wireless sensor systems and computer vision based systems for structural health monitoring. Chao also worked as a research assistant in the Robotics and Automation Laboratory at Tsinghua University in China where he developed a high-speed wafer transfer robotic system. Chao received his bachelor’s degree in Automation Engineering from Beijing Institute of Technology, China.

Ron leads the Integration team at Burro, bringing his experience and enthusiasm to all aspects of the software development lifecycle. Prior to working at Burro, Ron spent the last 20 years bringing new and innovative medical imaging devices and computer-controlled scientific instruments to market. He obtained his B.S. in Computer and Information Science from Temple University, where he discovered his love for teaching and mentoring. Ron enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys, Maker projects such as 3D printing, electronics, and woodworking, and wondering if this is finally the year that our Philadelphia Phillies will make it back to the postseason.

Josh is a robotics autonomy engineer at Burro and is passionate about all things robots. He builds the brains of the bots which includes sensor fusion, perception, localization, path planning, and control. His prior experience in autonomy includes an aerostat for surveillance, drones for special operations, autonomous cars, and agriculture robots. Before his career in robotics, he had a career in the nuclear industry as a nuclear, electrical, instrumentation, and control engineer. Prior to that he was a nuclear reactor operator and electronics technician for six years in the US Navy. When not working he’s reading something scientific, adventuring in nature, or traveling.

Malavika is a robotic software engineer at Burro, and develops behaviors across obstacle handling, path planning, perception, and localization. Prior to joining the company, Malavika held software engineering roles with Wells Fargo and ZF Group. She received her Masters in Robotics from University of Pennsylvania, where she focused on task allocation and navigation with multi robot systems and vision-based navigation. Additionally, she received her Bachelors in Instrumentation and Control Engineering at PSG College of Technology, in Coimbatore, India. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, hiking and dancing.

Fanfei is a Senior Perception and Machine Learning Engineer at Burro. He develops machine learning algorithms for the computer vision system. Prior to working at Burro, he led the full-stack ML algorithm development for perception systems at Exyn Technologies. Fanfei completed his Ph.D. at Stevens Institute of Technology under the guidance of Dr. Brendan Englot. His research lies at the intersection of robotics and machine learning.

Yao-Chung builds the infrastructure that enables us to scale fleets of our robots. Prior to working at Augean, he conducted research on computer vision and robotics topics in Electrical and Computer Engineering Information Processing Lab at University Washington. He also developed several applications including a webRTC application during Google Hackathon 2020. Yao-Chung received his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at University of Washington and Bachelor’s degree from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan.

Sarah Allen is a software engineer on the Robotics Infrastructure Team, creating tools to improve robot health monitoring and system testing. Prior to joining Burro, Sarah worked at Exyn Technologies as a Robotics Software Engineer on similar projects. She received her Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University and her B.S.E. at the University of Pennsylvania. In her spare time, Sarah helps to run the Philadelphia Riichi Mahjong Club.

Gabriel Smith is a software engineer at Burro, tasked with the challenge of maintaining and refining our ever-growing full stack code-base. Prior to joining Burro, Gabe worked on the development of Ver – a patent-pending computer vision based VR software stack for strabismus therapy, and also taught Python to middle schoolers. Gabriel received a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Outside of tinkering with robots and developing software, he enjoys watching baseball, building Lego vehicles/buildings, and reading books by authors like J. R. Tolkien and Brandon Sanderson.

Safy graduated with a M.Sc. degree in artificial intelligence and robotics from University of La Sapienza in Rome, Italy, where he focused his studies on robot localization and mapping, computer vision and neural networks. His work experience is in developing autonomous drones and ground robots for agriculture and environmental assessment solutions. Safy enjoys surfing, kayaking, snowboarding and being out in nature.

Craig is developing Burro’s robotic simulation and integration testing capabilities. Prior to Burro, Craig has spent over eight years developing robotic and autonomous systems at Triton Systems, designing electromechanical hardware at Princetel, and integrating complex, multidisciplinary systems at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Craig holds a Master’s degree in Robotics Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and a B.S.M.E. from Temple University. His graduate studies included coursework in robotic control systems, advanced robot navigation, and deep learning for robot perception. Craig worked with WPI’s Manipulation and Environmental Robotics (MER) Lab to implement vision-based key insertion algorithms for robotic manipulators.

Chun is a Robotics Software Engineer at Burro, currently focusing his work on dexterity. His goal is to help automate tedious work, and is doing so by helping to improve the autonomy in our technology stack. Prior to Burro, Chun was a research assistant at the GRASP lab and had robotics software internships at iRobot and Humatics. Chun obtained his M.S in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and considers himself a curious, lifelong learner with a passion for robotics.

Logan is one of our passionate Software Engineers working on User Interface and Experience as well as Software Architecture. Before working at Burro, Logan worked in software architecture internships and conducted research at Northwestern University investigating IoT device privacy, energy harvesting, and brain-computer interface design. Logan received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and Neuroscience from Northwestern University and is completing his Master’s degree in Computer Engineering at Northwestern, with a thesis on the analysis of modern neural sensing technology for use in consumer applications. Outside of work, Logan enjoys cooking, music, and spending time with his two cats, Pepita and Pringles.

Tyler is a Strategy and Operations Analyst at Burro helping to facilitate and oversee manufacturing, create operational procedures, and analyze field data in order to drive product reliability improvements, develop new features and functionalities, and increase customer value. Prior to joining Burro, Tyler worked for several notable startups, including Grypmat and HyperDamping. He attended the University of Michigan receiving a Mechanical Engineering degree with a minor in Entrepreneurship. In his free time, Tyler stays active by playing golf, softball, and going to the gym.

Pranav is a robot support engineer at Burro, tasked with maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction while maximizing uptime and reliability. Before working at Burro, Pranav worked on autonomous low-lift and tuggers as a robot support engineer. Pranav received a Master’s degree from Texas A&M University in the field of Mechanical engineering and a specialization in control systems. Outside of work supporting robots, he enjoys tinkering with his 3D printer, gaming, and reading novels.

Chris leads our Sales and Support efforts in California. He grew up on his family farm in the San Joaquin Valley, where he experienced from an early age the challenges and opportunities around using and implementing new technologies on farm. He joined our team after working for Brandt Farms, a leading grower, packer, and shipper of table grapes, stone fruit, citrus, and persimmons in and around Reedley, CA. At Brandt, he managed ranch operations at various levels, and worked implementing various early Ag technologies such as multi-spectral imaging, soil mapping, and variable rate fertility applications. From this, he has a real world understanding of technology that does what it is sold as doing, and works reliably in the field. Chris and his Wife Kasey have three kids (who love robots), and are heavily invested in their community.

Noe Toribio grew up in Fresno, California where he was immersed in robotics and agriculture as he participated in robotics competitions in high school and worked in the local industry including spending time working in farm fields. He attended California State University, Fresno where he got his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology as he simultaneously worked on projects at the intersection of robotics and agriculture.

Josue grew up in Fresno, California, the son of extremely hardworking Mexican immigrant parents. Through his parents’ determination to provide their family with better opportunities Josue developed a strong interest in technology and education. This led him to obtain a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from UC Davis in 2015, and to work in education, teaching chemistry at Fresno High School. He continued working in education while simultaneously obtaining his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Fresno State in 2019. Today, Josue works at the intersection of education and technology, teaching crews how to use Burros and problem solving any issues such that customers have an exceptional experience.

Angel supports development of new autonomous functions/capabilities in the field, and also supports customers using Burros. Prior to joining the company, Angel held a variety of roles ranging from bussing tables to working in a materials testing lab and programming microcontrollers. Angel grew up in Bakersfield, where he attended Bakersfield College before transferring to UC Berkeley to earn his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He joined Burro in order to gain more exposure into the field of AI/robotics while simultaneously helping make an impact on the type of community/people he grew up around. His main academic interests include machine learning, control theory, and simulation.

Isaiah grew up in Bakersfield, California around agriculture at a young age. As a child, he was taught the value of hard work by proxy of family members who worked agricultural careers. Isaiah studies at Cal. State Bakersfield, where he received his B.S. in Computer Science in Fall 2021, taking an interest in Software Engineering. The combination of his love for technology, hard work, and proximity to agriculture is why he loves working at Burro. In his spare time, Isaiah enjoys hikes and playing Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Daniel was born in Mexico, and emigrated to Delano, California when he was 10. He began working for Sunview Vineyards at the age of 15, where he experienced most of the jobs performed in table grape production first hand while also working on special projects including integrating geographic information system, implementing drone mapping, and trials with ants. He attended Cal State Bakersfield where he obtained my B.S. in business administration with a concentration in accounting, and joined the Burro team in order to make a difference in the community that surrounds him.

Chris designs, integrates, and tests Burro’s sensor systems, including stereo cameras, GPS, and IMUs. Prior to joining Burro, Chris worked on level 4 autonomous vehicle teams at Ford and Argo AI, where he gained experience with radar, sensor drivers, computer networking, V&V, and HIL simulation/test. He is a proud alumnus of the University of Michigan, completing both a Bachelor and Masters in Electrical Engineering. While in graduate school, Chris researched readout control systems for high performance MEMS inertial sensors. Chris enjoys trivia, retro video games, tennis, and golf outside of work.

After completing a PhD thesis at Université Paris-Saclay on data localization and fusion, Salim joined Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to work on ADAS and autonomous driving topics for L2 and L3 projects. Salim worked on the major parts of the algorithmic stack of the multi-sensor data fusion software component for five years, primarily vehicle dynamic estimation and object tracking for active emergency braking and adaptive cruise control. He also successfully led a team of eight people for two years in the development of a Lidar point cloud algorithmic stack using deep learning for a level 3 autonomous driving project. Salim is happy to be part of the Burro team, helping to tackle new challenges around autonomous robots. He is passionate about resolving real-world issues that have a significant impact on people.

Stacy is Burro’s People Operations Associate. She embraces fulfilling team happiness, from bagels to benefits, diversity training to continuing ed, onboarding to OKR’s, culture to cookies. Burro is her 3rd start up experience, previously she was the Director of Employee & Community Engagement at WebLinc Ecommerce. Born and raised in Philly, she is a cheerleader for her beloved city, attending the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera, and can often be found wandering Philly’s world class museums, galleries, and vintage flea markets. Stacy attended Temple and Syracuse University earning a degree in Psychology.

Alan designs and develops Burro’s electrical and embedded systems. Prior to working at Burro, Alan developed embedded software and accelerated image processing algorithms using low SWaP FPGA and GPU SoCs for onboard satellite processing. He also has experience developing electronics at a previous startup. Alan received his Masters in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelors degree from Drexel University. In his free time, Alan enjoys playing video and board games and going to Quizzo.