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Launch HN: Flywheel (YC S25) – Waymo for Excavators

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Re: Launch HN: Flywheel (YC S25) – Waymo for Excavators

#21

Post by opwieurposiu »

seabrookmx wrote: post #14

> The joysticks are connected to a pilot hydraulic circuit, which proportionally moves the cylinders in the main hydraulic circuit which ultimately moves the excavator joints I've actually spent a decent amount of time running an excavator, as my Dad owns a construction / road building company. It was a great summer job! An important note about the pilot hydraulics is that they _provide feedback to the operator_. I w…

Yes, and you also get feedback from your butt as the machine tips and wobbles, particularly on smaller machines. Hearing the engine straining helps also. Often you can not clearly see what you are digging, this feedback lets you know if you are running into a rock or something.

One big advantage would be cameras mounted on the boom and rear view cameras, as many machines have obstructed views.

Re: Launch HN: Flywheel (YC S25) – Waymo for Excavators

#22

Post by jashmota »

beachy wrote: post #19

What a fantastic business. I've watched lots of digger (as we call them here) drivers in action and I'm in awe of what these machines can do and how incredibly skilled their operators are. We have several large rock walls on our property and watching these guys delicately picking and placing huge rocks to key them in just blows my mind. There was a YouTube video recently of an AI-assisted digger making a wall out of…

You're spot on! The experienced operators are quite skilled at moving these machines. The number of operators who could do this work are decreasing and it's also pretty dangerous which explains the reduction of new people joining in, especially with better ways to make money today. We're getting started with remote teleop and moving towards full autonomy!

Re: Launch HN: Flywheel (YC S25) – Waymo for Excavators

#25

Post by qafy »

algo_trader wrote: post #23

Whats the budget for getting an MVP for heavy equipment ? I ask in all seriousness since, for example, retrofitting regular semis to electric requires millions and millions just to get started

I feel like the inherent bootstrap cost of hardware startups is usually reflected in fundraising amounts.

Re: Launch HN: Flywheel (YC S25) – Waymo for Excavators

#26

Post by jashmota »

algo_trader wrote: post #23

Whats the budget for getting an MVP for heavy equipment ? I ask in all seriousness since, for example, retrofitting regular semis to electric requires millions and millions just to get started

It's far cheaper than millions! We're making something equipment owners want :) Let's chat? My email is contact at useflywheel dot ai

Re: Launch HN: Flywheel (YC S25) – Waymo for Excavators

#28

Post by jashmota »

seabrookmx wrote: post #14

> The joysticks are connected to a pilot hydraulic circuit, which proportionally moves the cylinders in the main hydraulic circuit which ultimately moves the excavator joints I've actually spent a decent amount of time running an excavator, as my Dad owns a construction / road building company. It was a great summer job! An important note about the pilot hydraulics is that they _provide feedback to the operator_. I w…

You're right! This is exactly why we like to do mechanical actuation - we are able to achieve bilateral telepresence, which essentially gives the torque (haptic) feedback over the internet! So on small excavators, you can absolutely feel the resistance. We also stream the engine audio, which tells you how hard the hydraulic pump is working. Operators like our system for these reasons :)

I'd like to get a chance to talk to you and your Dad to get feedback. How do I reach you? My email is contact at useflywheel dot ai

Re: Launch HN: Flywheel (YC S25) – Waymo for Excavators

#29

Post by jashmota »

opwieurposiu wrote: post #21
seabrookmx wrote: post #14

> The joysticks are connected to a pilot hydraulic circuit, which proportionally moves the cylinders in the main hydraulic circuit which ultimately moves the excavator joints I've actually spent a decent amount of time running an excavator, as my Dad owns a construction / road building company. It was a great summer job! An important note about the pilot hydraulics is that they _provide feedback to the operator_. I w…

Yes, and you also get feedback from your butt as the machine tips and wobbles, particularly on smaller machines. Hearing the engine straining helps also. Often you can not clearly see what you are digging, this feedback lets you know if you are running into a rock or something. One big advantage would be cameras mounted on the boom and rear view cameras, as many machines have obstructed views.

We're indeed streaming the audio and have haptic feedback. My hypothesis is the seat vibration isn't as helpful. It's sub optimal and operators would be far more productive without it. We would do a paper when we have enough data on this. We're also putting more cameras but streaming a lot of them at once is tricky.

Re: Launch HN: Flywheel (YC S25) – Waymo for Excavators

#30

Post by jasongill »

This looks very interesting. I understand that hydraulic retrofit is compelling, but you may want to consider CANbus-based retrofits as well (similar to how CommaAI works, where it simply sends messages to the CANbus network to control steering or speed just like ADAS features do). Modern equipment is moving away from hydraulic controls toward a fully digital cockpit and being able to plug in and teleop (for less than the cost of the manufacturers expensive robotics suite) would be amazing.

I have a Cat 289D skid steer I would happily contribute to the effort if you guys move into the compact equipment space (compact being a relative term, as my machine is only 6 tons compared to your 38 ton machine)

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