Sunny Ray sits down with Omar Abdul-hadi of Adeeb Robotics to discuss his path from senior engineering roles at major companies to building robots of his own. Omar spent seven years at Yaskawa as a senior software and robotics engineer, then worked at Applied Materials, and later became a senior software engineer at Apple before starting his company from scratch. He explains the goal of making robotics as approachable as IKEA furniture, with layered packaging and exploded view instructions that let his first customer assemble a robot in two or three hours. Omar describes carrying Apple's focus on detail and simplicity into hardware, and he explains why the company began with Delta robots, which use fewer motors, move faster, and are easier to manufacture than six-axis arms. He also covers the 3D motion simulation in the software and the in-house design, machining, and software work made possible by his father's machine shop. A weak internet connection cut the conversation short, and Sunny and Omar plan to regroup for a follow-up.
Omar Abdul-hadi left Apple to build IKEA-style Delta robots that customers can assemble themselves in just a few hours.
What do you hope people learn by the end of this episode?
We're trying to make robotics easier for everyone. The best way I can put it is more like IKEA furniture, something you can get, assemble yourself, and set up yourself. That's the goal for us: make it easier and cheaper for everyone. That's what I hope people take away from this conversation.
What was your career path before starting your own robotics company?
I spent seven years at Yaskawa, a leading industrial robot manufacturer, as a senior software engineer and robotics engineer. That's where I learned a lot of things could be done differently, and the seeds of the idea started there. Then I worked at Applied Materials in robotics, finished as a senior software engineer at Apple, and started the company from scratch.
Your first customer assembled the robot in two or three hours. How did you design for that?
We box the items in layers, so you remove the top layer and assemble that first, then the second layer, then the third. We included detailed IKEA style exploded view instructions, one step at a time. My first customer was able to follow along, and I corrected a few mistakes later when they asked me.
What did working at Apple teach you about building hardware?
Apple is very detail oriented, and everything has to be perfect, especially the design. The philosophy of simplifying things and making them user friendly is what I bring from Apple. You see it in their products all the time. Usually the sleek, simple design is the one that works.
Why did you start with a Delta robot?
Delta robots are cheaper and faster. They have roughly half the motors of a six-axis arm, a minimum of three joints versus six. They hang upside down as a parallel mechanism, so they're self-supporting, which makes them faster and easier to design and manufacture. With an arm, you route cables through the joints and the first joints carry the rest of the robot.
Why simulate the motion in software before running the robot?
Sometimes you want to simulate your environment after calibrating the camera and your workspace, to make sure you're not going to have a crash. Our UI lets you simulate the motion in 3D and validate it. You don't have to move any motors. You can make sure everything checks out first.
What do you do in-house that most robot makers buy from someone else?
We do the design and machining in-house, because my dad had a machine shop for 20 or 30 years. That's my unfair advantage. We also built all the front end and back end of the robot software ourselves, including the EtherCAT communication protocol, which I developed myself.
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