Automation Ladies

“We do it with AI” is easy to say. Making robots work through contact, uncertainty, and variation on a real factory floor is the hard part. We sit down with Whitney Dills from Thought Forge AI to unpack an approach to industrial robotics control that flips a common assumption: more data does not automatically mean better performance.

Whitney explains active inference, a neuroscience rooted framework that treats robot control as continuous prediction and correction using real time sensory feedback. Instead of bloated backpropagation models that demand huge datasets and retraining for every edge case, Thought Forge trains quickly on small amounts of data and adapts after deployment. We talk about why that matters for insertion and complex manipulation, where torque, joint state, and haptics decide success or failure. If you have ever watched a slick picking demo fall apart the moment parts vary, lighting shifts, or fixtures drift, this conversation connects the dots.

We also get practical about adoption: edge AI that can run on a CPU, the risks of GPU dependence, and how data ownership and IP concerns shape buyer trust. Whitney shares why their models stay on premise, why off the shelf robots and sensors often win over novel vertically integrated stacks, and how to think about cobots versus humanoids when reliability and cycle time are non negotiable.

Subscribe for more conversations that cut through robotics hype, share this with someone evaluating “physical AI” for manufacturing, and leave a review with the one automation task you most want AI to finally handle.
Support the show
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🎙 About Automation Ladies

Automation Ladies is an industrial automation podcast spotlighting the engineers, integrators, innovators, and leaders shaping the future of manufacturing.
__________________________________________________________________

🎤 Want to be a guest on the show?
https://www.automationladies.io/guests/intake/
__________________________________________________________________

👩‍🏭 Connect with the Hosts
Nikki Gonzales

Courtney Fernandez

Ali G
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🎟 The Automation Ladies Community Conference: https://otscada.com

Learn more about the hosts’ industrial automation conference OT SCADA CON attended by 100+ automation professionals, engineers, integrators, and technology leaders for hands-on learning, real-world case studies, and meaningful industry connections.

🎬 Credits

Produced by: Veronica Espinoza
Music by: Sam Janes

P.S. - Help our podcast grow with ...

Paper schematics feel “reliable” until they are the reason a shutdown drags on, a cabinet print is wrong, or a tech makes a split-second mistake under pressure. We sit down with Dylan from Lightstream, a Belgian family-owned industrial automation company, to get brutally practical about what it takes to move maintenance from binders and drawers to a digital workflow that technicians will actually use.

We unpack Cabinet Manager, which Dylan calls the digital Swiss pocket knife for technicians. The promise is simple: scan a code at the machine and instantly pull up the right electrical schematics, manuals, procedures, and diagrams in one place, tailored to who you are (electrician, mechanic, PLC programmer). From there, updates and annotations are captured as the work happens, so “as-built” documentation stops being a fantasy and starts becoming a habit.

Then we go deep on augmented reality in manufacturing. Dylan shares real demo data comparing troubleshooting by paper, tablet, and AR, and why AR can slash time because the information is in your field of view and your hands stay free. We also challenge the easy narrative around AI: manuals are not the same as experience, and the real win is capturing tribal knowledge from veteran technicians before it retires out the door. Along the way, we talk safety and lockout tagout, labor shortages, retention pressure from data centers, and why humanoid robots may be more PR than practical in today’s plants.

If you care about digital transformation in industrial maintenance, OT reliability, and safer troubleshooting, this one is for you. Subscribe, share it with a maintenance leader, and leave a review with your take: what is the biggest barrier to going paperless where you work?
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👾 Connect with Dylan

Linkedin
Lightstream BE Linkedin
Lightstream BE website

Support the show
_________________________________________________________________

🎙 About Automation Ladies

Automation Ladies is an industrial automation podcast spotlighting the engineers, integrators, innovators, and leaders shaping the future of manufacturing.
__________________________________________________________________

🎤 Want to be a guest on the show?
https://www.automationladies.io/guests/intake/
__________________________________________________________________

👩‍🏭 Connect with the Hosts
Nikki Gonzales

Courtney Fernandez

Ali G
__________________________________________________________________

🎟 The Automation Ladies Community Conference: https://otscada.com

Learn more about the hosts’ industrial automation conference OT SCADA CON attended by 100+ automation professionals, engineers, integrators, and technology leaders for hands-on learning, real-world case studies, and meaningful industry connections.

🎬 Credits

Produced by: Veronica Espinoza
Music by: Sam Janes

P.S. - Help our podcast grow with ...

Your engineering degree taught you equations. Then your first job asks you to troubleshoot a VFD, commission a skid, and explain the problem to five different people without melting down. That jump is real, and it’s exactly what we dig into with Alice Ristoff and Cassie Gardner from eTech Group.

We talk about the many on-ramps into controls engineering and industrial automation and why there isn’t one “correct” major. Chemical engineering, bioengineering, mechanical, electrical, and even biology backgrounds can thrive when you bring curiosity, solid problem solving, and the willingness to learn PLC programming and SCADA basics. Alice and Cassie share concrete ways to break in, including finding mentors, running informational interviews, and building marketable skills like Ignition SCADA credentials that can help you get your foot in the door.

From there, we move to what makes technical teams actually work: active listening versus presuming, validating what you heard, asking clarifying questions, and naming the feelings behind the facts. We also challenge the idea that management is the only path to career growth, talk about handling conflict directly, and share how to support engineers across different generations. You’ll also hear honest stories about commissioning, making expensive mistakes, and why ownership plus documentation beats panic every time.

If you’re trying to enter industrial automation, level up as a controls engineer, or lead better on projects without scope creep, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s breaking into automation, and leave a review so more engineers can find the show.
Support the show
_________________________________________________________________

🎙 About Automation Ladies

Automation Ladies is an industrial automation podcast spotlighting the engineers, integrators, innovators, and leaders shaping the future of manufacturing.
__________________________________________________________________

🎤 Want to be a guest on the show?
https://www.automationladies.io/guests/intake/
__________________________________________________________________

👩‍🏭 Connect with the Hosts
Nikki Gonzales

Courtney Fernandez

Ali G
__________________________________________________________________

🎟 The Automation Ladies Community Conference: https://otscada.com

Learn more about the hosts’ industrial automation conference OT SCADA CON attended by 100+ automation professionals, engineers, integrators, and technology leaders for hands-on learning, real-world case studies, and meaningful industry connections.

🎬 Credits

Produced by: Veronica Espinoza
Music by: Sam Janes

P.S. - Help our podcast grow with ...

Most people in industrial automation agree we have a skills gap, but we keep aiming the message at ourselves. We sat down with Amanda Beaton from Siemens to talk about the side of Automate that deserves a bigger spotlight: Education Day, student tours, and the educators building the next wave of automation and robotics talent long before anyone applies for a job.

Amanda runs Siemens Cooperates with Education in the US, bridging industry and academia by helping instructors get access to real Siemens automation technologies, training, curriculum, and micro-credentials. We dig into the A3 Educator of the Year Award and the story behind this year’s winner, Jim Dever Prasad from Lake Superior State University, whose decades in robotics education created a chain reaction of graduates who now lead, mentor, and teach across manufacturing and automation.

We also get practical about outreach. Students are not scrolling LinkedIn, and parents often do not know that high-paying automation careers can start without a four-year degree. We explore why short-form video can close the awareness gap, how immersive demos like the Siemens Mobile Experience make modern manufacturing feel tangible, and why badges and industry-recognized micro-credentials are gaining real weight in workforce development and hiring.

If this conversation helps you rethink how we grow automation talent, subscribe, share the episode with a teammate or an educator, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show.
Support the show
_________________________________________________________________

🎙 About Automation Ladies

Automation Ladies is an industrial automation podcast spotlighting the engineers, integrators, innovators, and leaders shaping the future of manufacturing.
__________________________________________________________________

🎤 Want to be a guest on the show?
https://www.automationladies.io/guests/intake/
__________________________________________________________________

👩‍🏭 Connect with the Hosts
Nikki Gonzales

Courtney Fernandez

Ali G
__________________________________________________________________

🎟 The Automation Ladies Community Conference: https://otscada.com

Learn more about the hosts’ industrial automation conference OT SCADA CON attended by 100+ automation professionals, engineers, integrators, and technology leaders for hands-on learning, real-world case studies, and meaningful industry connections.

🎬 Credits

Produced by: Veronica Espinoza
Music by: Sam Janes

P.S. - Help our podcast grow with ...

AI isn’t just a software story, it’s a power story, a controls story, and a “how do we actually build this stuff” story. After the EPC show in Houston, I sit down with Dennis Ganson from Schneider Electric to unpack what’s changing in industrial automation and energy, and how you can stay useful as the pace picks up.

Dennis shares his career path from West Point and the US Army into GE Energy, field service, project leadership, and strategic sales, eventually landing in process automation. We talk about what he leads at Schneider Electric across the Foxboro and Triconex world, and why process automation and discrete automation are different in practice even when customers need both. If you’ve ever felt boxed into one niche, this conversation makes the case for learning laterally and building a strong technical network.

We also dig into what we heard at EPC: data center buildouts, utility constraints, gas turbine bottlenecks, and the craft labor shortage that no spreadsheet can wish away. Then we bring it back to technology, how modern control systems unlock more plant data, why that changes predictive maintenance and optimization, and what “software-defined automation” and truly open architecture can mean when supply chains get messy.

If you’re navigating DCS vs PLC decisions, tracking AI infrastructure demand, or just trying to understand where automation is headed next, you’ll leave with clearer mental models and better questions to ask. Subscribe, share this with a friend in controls or energy, and leave a review telling us what topic you want us to chase next.
Support the show
_________________________________________________________________

🎙 About Automation Ladies

Automation Ladies is an industrial automation podcast spotlighting the engineers, integrators, innovators, and leaders shaping the future of manufacturing.
__________________________________________________________________

🎤 Want to be a guest on the show?
https://www.automationladies.io/guests/intake/
__________________________________________________________________

👩‍🏭 Connect with the Hosts
Nikki Gonzales

Courtney Fernandez

Ali G
__________________________________________________________________

🎟 The Automation Ladies Community Conference: https://otscada.com

Learn more about the hosts’ industrial automation conference OT SCADA CON attended by 100+ automation professionals, engineers, integrators, and technology leaders for hands-on learning, real-world case studies, and meaningful industry connections.

🎬 Credits

Produced by: Veronica Espinoza
Music by: Sam Janes

P.S. - Help our podcast grow with ...