Leadership
Black-I Robotics was founded in 2006 by a core of experienced investors, inventors, engineers and visionaries expert in mobile robot systems. Our initial work was for the government, in particular DARPA, the advanced research arm of the Department of Defense. DARPA asked us to develop a heavy lift mobile arm to replace scarce labor. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerged and the cost performance of power sources, cameras, computers, lidars and other technologies improved exponentially, we pivoted to the commercial markets, where the troubled logistics and manufacturing industries simply couldn’t find enough workers. We introduced Version one of our commercial autonomous mobile heavy lift robot in 2022 to much acclaim. We’re now on Version 10. Literally dozens of companies have expressed serious interest in the system.
Brian Hart, Brian Hart, Founder, CEO and COB of Black-I Robotics, Inc, is one of the country’s foremost robotics experts. He originally developed robots for the Defense Department, DARPA, DOE, DHS, and other government agencies. In this capacity he was involved with a dozen universities and research centers on a range of high-tech projects. Prior to founding Black-I, he was a successful pro bono advocate in Washington DC for lifesaving body armor, vehicular armor, and hemostatic solutions. Prior to that, he Co-Founded and was COB and CEO of Telepharmacy Solutions, a tele-health and pharmacy automation company later acquired by AmerisourceBergen, a leading drug wholesaler. He has been Assistant Treasurer of Boston University managing a portion of its private equity portfolio and its technology incubation and transfer process. He was a CFO of a regional wireless company in the Southwest, which was later acquired. He has a BA with honors and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Brian is an active community leader. He was an early member of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Robotics Engineering Advisory Board, a former director of the Simon W. Robinson Masonic Angel Charitable Fund for Children, and a founding Family Advisory Board Member for Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund. He served on a church endowment committee and was an appointed member of the Town of Bedford Finance Committee. He holds multiple patents.
Gaurav Singh is a passionate robotics engineer and software developer who leads Black-I’s in-house software development for our large mobile autonomous 7-DOF robot arm that can pick and place large objects. Gaurav graduated from university in New Delhi, India, before coming to the States, where he earned a master’s degree in MS Robotics – computer science concentration from Northeastern University. He uses AI-based vision and obstacle avoidance to direct the arm in its tasks in a real-world environment, and has expertise in Python, C++, ROS, as well as AI. He also has experience working on Matlab, computer vision, natural language processing, deep learning, and reinforcement learning. Gaurav also is a drone enthusiast.
Paul Pescatore, CFO of Black-I Robotics for over a decade, was a senior executive vice president for finance and operations with a biotech company. He has held senior positions in technology, healthcare, medical equipment manufacturing and software firms. He is a graduate of Boston College and served with the U. S. Army in Europe.
David Askey is the co-founder and CEO of Ascend Robotics. David and his team tailored Ascend’s world-class parts handling robot systems to the needs of Black-I’s customer base within the warehouse and manufacturing industries. The system retrieves components, provides production line supply, and automates kitting. Ascend’s AI and robotics technologies also have been deployed in the construction space, including robot control and perception for autonomous painting of buildings and infrastructure structures. David, who has extensive experience in AI, perception, and robotics, has held senior positions managing engineering teams, leading technology strategy, and directing R&D at technology and imaging companies both in the U.S. and Europe. David has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Sean Sullivan, marketing consultant and investor, began his career as a journalist on daily newspapers on the East and West Coasts, including The Wall Street Journal. Sean spent 10 years with IBM in California and New York before serving as Vice President of Marketing for several computer hardware and software companies. He went on to found a variety of companies, including an airline, a medical device company and an advertising agency, the latter two of which were acquired by larger firms. Mr. Sullivan also served with the Peace Corps in Africa for five years. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and earned an M.S. from Fairfield University. He has been involved with Black-I Robotics since 2008.
