R
Ross Finman
About
Detail
CEO / Founder
Seattle, Washington, United States
Résumé
Jobs
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CEO / FounderAugmodoJan 2023 - Current (3 years 7 months)Augmodo is building Spatial Computing for commerce. We track every product in every store using wearable cameras on retail associates to improve inventory/supply chain data and help associates- GM of AR Headset; Founding AR Lead - Mapping/StrategyNiantic IncJan 2018 - Jun 2022 (4 years 6 months)After Niantic acquired Escher Reality where I was the co-founder/CEO, I founded the AR mapping / Visual Positioning System (VPS) effort and built the engineering team from the ground up. Worked with the CEO and executive team in defining Niantic's AR strategy and sourced/evaluated/executed multiple acquisitions and strategic partnerships to accelerate the strategy. Go to expert on the AR market landscape and invited keynote speaker at multiple industry conferences. I am currently the General Manager of Niantic's Headset division, leading a passionate team I recruited that includes VP/Director-level industry veterans.
- CEO & Co-FounderEscher RealityJan 2016 - Dec 2017 (2 years)Started building the AR "Metaverse" or AR Cloud for AR developers. We built on-device and cloud-based computer vision tools for real world interactions and mapping - enabling multiplayer and persistence capabilities for developers. Escher was top of the YCombinator S17 batch, raised funds from top tier VCs (Founders Fund, Uncork, etc), and was acquired by Niantic to seed their AR Platform (now called Lightship).
- Software InternSpaceXMay 2010 - Aug 2010 (4 months)Wrote telemetry data processing for the Dragon space capsule to connect to the NASA satellite network.
- Augmented Reality & Robotics ResearcherMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyJan 2010 - Dec 2017 (8 years)Challenged the static world assumption underpinning most SLAM algorithms. Worked on dynamic object detection for self-supervised learning in changing environments. Worked on Dense SLAM maps for real-time map segmentation, object-based place recognition, and dynamic object detection and recognition in maps.
- Robotics InternNASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryMay 2009 - Aug 2009 (4 months)Designed a force-feedback autonomous excavator for the ATHLETE Lunar rover.
- Robotics EngineerAstroboticMay 2008 - Sep 2008 (5 months)Worked on perception system for earth-based lunar rover testing. Wrote UI code for rover control system.
- FLlama FarmerFinman FarmNov 1999 - Sep 2007 (7 years 11 months)
Education
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- Minor, Venture LawHarvard Law SchoolJan 2015 - Dec 2016 (2 years)
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) - ABD, RoboticsMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyJan 2012 - Dec 2017 (6 years)
- Master's Degree, RoboticsMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyJan 2010 - Dec 2012 (3 years)
- BS, Computer EngineeringCarnegie Mellon UniversityJan 2007 - Dec 2010 (4 years)Graduated in three years. Specialized in robotic perception and embedded systems.
Projects (professional or personal)
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- EEnvoy ProjectJun 2010 - Jun 2013 (3 years 1 month)A robot assistant that can help people in indoor (multi-floor environments) by interacting and guiding them to their destinations. Capable of asking for assistance when required (e.g. calling elevators).
Publications
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- MMulti-Volume High Resolution RGB-D Mapping with Dynamic Volume PlacementOct 2015Ultra-high resolution mapping when needed.
- R3D Mapping, Localisation and Object Retrieval using Low Cost Robotic Platforms: A Robotic Search Engine for the Real-worRobotic Science and Systems WorkshopJul 2014Full end-to-end robotic system for localizing and navigating to objects in real-time.
- IEfficient incremental map segmentation in dense RGB-D mapsInternational Conference on Robotics and AutomationJun 2014How to efficiently add new data to existing segmentations of the world for long term, real-time map segmentation.
- IPhysical words for place recognition in dense RGB-D mapsInternational Conference for Robotics and AutomationJun 2014How to extract high level semantic features from low level segmentations for robust place recognition in carrying conditions.
- EToward lifelong object segmentation from change detection in dense RGB-D mapsEuropean Conference for Mobile RoboticsOct 2013How to use object motion as a prior for discovering new objects in dense RGB-D maps.
- IToward object-based place recognition in dense RGB-D mapsInternational Conference for Robotics and AutomationUsing object cliques matching for multi-session robot relocalization.