Autonomous Robots in Space and Sky

In this moderated panel discussion, Astrobotic CEO John Thornton and Near Earth Autonomy CTO & Co-Founder Lyle Chamberlain will lay out the need, challenges, and future of autonomous robotics, both for space exploration and for flying about the Earth. There will be ample time for audience Q&A, so bring your burning questions!

John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic

John Thornton has grown Astrobotic's business of delivering affordable space robotics technology and planetary missions by attracting technology contracts, equity investment, and payload customers. Under his leadership, the company has booked three lunar missions with its Peregrine, Griffin, and MoonRanger spacecraft. At Carnegie Mellon University, Thornton led the build of Scarab, a NASA concept rover for lunar drilling, and the first rover to carry a prototype of the NASA RESOLVE payload that will now be flying to the lunar south pole on the NASA VIPER rover aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Thornton also founded the Carnegie Mellon University Advanced Composites Lab, a research, training, design, and manufacturing program specializing in high performance, lightweight composites for robotics.

Lyle Chamberlain, CTO & Co-Founder of Near Earth Autonomy

Lyle is Lead for Flight Operations and Principal Mechanical Engineer, and a co-founder of Near Earth Autonomy. He has over a decade of experience in field robotics implementation and test, with the majority of his work involving autonomous aircraft. Currently he oversees development of perception packages for full-scale vehicles, and leads the integration and test of these systems on multiple customer aircraft.  Lyle graduated from Caltech in 2005 with a BS in Engineering and Applied Science, and worked for 8 years as engineering staff at the Carnegie Mellon Field Robotics Center. Away from work, Lyle participates in cross-country glider racing and aviation outreach in the community, flying his experimental-class glider in events and serving for several years as president of the Pittsburgh Soaring Club.