Safety Third: Autonomous Revolution

In this episode of Safety Third: Autonomous Revolution, Erik talks with Anita Dodia, Laboratory Manager at RMAI, about how testing, inspection, and certification are evolving for AI-enabled safety systems. They explore why traditional functional safety standards struggle with black box AI models, and what it really means to validate systems that are probabilistic, non-transparent, and shaped by complex real-world environments.

Anita explains how robustness testing, simulation, and physical validation can be used to define safe operating boundaries for physical AI. The conversation also touches on emerging standards like ISO/IEC TS 22440, along with the role of accreditation and collaboration across  safety and standards community. They discuss why integrating safety into AI system design early on, rather than treating it as a late-stage requirement, determines whether autonomous systems can realistically be tested, validated, and certified.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

More on RMAI: www.safetycert.ai

Check out our work: www.reynolds-moore.com

Erik sits down with Patrik Feth, Professor of Computer Science at International University of Applied Sciences (IU) and AI Officer at NewTec, to discuss what it actually takes to move artificial intelligence from research into real world safety critical systems. The conversation explores the “valley of death” in technology deployment and the need to bridge the gap between traditional functional safety and modern software security.

Patrik explains why the industry must move past “safety by obscurity” and the “not invented here” mindset to embrace a more collaborative, open culture. They also explore the shift from deterministic to probabilistic engineering and the cultural changes required to build truly certifiable and trustworthy autonomous systems.

Check out our work: www.reynolds-moore.com

Natalya Lopareva, co-founder and CEO of Algorized, joins Erik to talk about non-visual human sensing and why true perception goes beyond cameras for the future of robotics. From detecting breathing and heartbeats through walls to creating a real-time safety bubble around people in industrial environments, this conversation explores how machines can understand human presence through a head to head ground truth verification process.

The discussion touches on Edge AI, latency, and the transition from rescue missions to commercial robotics. Natalya also reflects on how her approach to risk and innovation was shaped by her experience racing across the Pacific Ocean, where she navigated extreme weather conditions and experienced the surreal shift of living the same day twice after crossing the time zone.

More on Algorized: https://www.algorized.com/ 

Check out our work: https://reynolds-moore.com/

In this episode, Erik Reynolds sits down with Roberta Nelson Shea, Global Technical Compliance Officer at Teradyne Robotics, covering Universal Robots and MiR, and ISO convener for TC 299, for a wide-ranging conversation on how safety evolves across robotics, automation, and emerging technologies.

Drawing on decades of experience and her role in shaping standards such as ISO TS 15066 and ISO 10218, Roberta discusses why modern safety standards focus on goals rather than prescriptions, where compliance and safety diverge, and why machines cannot interpret risk the way humans do. The conversation spans collaborative robots, legacy factory equipment, autonomous vehicles, and AI-enabled safety systems, including a candid exchange on expectations around risk and the idea that “zero” is still a number when it comes to safety outcomes.

Check out our work: https://reynolds-moore.com/

Erik talks with Jens Müller, founder and managing director of Müller & Partner Sachverständige (M&P Experts) and longtime robotics safety specialist, about how safety fits into innovation for robots, mobile systems, and emerging humanoids. They dig into why standards matter, how to think about safety from the very first concept, and what startups and investors should know about compliance if they want to scale globally. 

Along the way, Jens shares lessons from three decades in industrial automation and why safety can be a real accelerator, not a roadblock. The conversation highlights how clear guidance and a structured safety approach help teams navigate new technologies with confidence.

More on Müller & Partner Sachverständige (M&P Experts): https://mp-sachverstaendige.de/

Check out our work: https://reynolds-moore.com/