Philosophy

  • Provide global access to skilled, manual assistance.
  • Embrace opportunities for machine/human contact.
  • Learn to follow human demonstrations, not code.
  • Inspire all creators to use our machines in new places.

A letter from our founder

Henry Ford revolutionized the world by bringing automobiles into everyday use. His parents used to tell stories about how Henry, when he was a child, had several dangerous encounters with horses and wagons that prompted his early interest in automobiles. At that time, “horseless carriages” were experimental and very expensive. Within a decade, Ford Motor Company was selling thousands of cars every month. Near that time, Ford wrote in a personal diary “The horse is DEAD!” Millennia of travel by horseback would soon be ending.

Gentle machines are designed to bring machine dexterity, currently as expensive and experimental as the early automobile, into everyday use. Routine and monotonous tasks can be automated by learning from a demonstration, giving you more time to focus on the work you enjoy. The work you do enjoy, you can perform via remote control anywhere in the world from the comfort of your home. Henry Ford made sure you could drive to work hundreds of miles from home. We’re making sure you don’t need to.

-Austin Gurley

Founder and CEO

Austin Gurley, Founder CEO speaking in a blue suit.

Austin Gurley

Founder & CEO

Austin leads our research team developing transparent tele-operation and training machines to learn from human demonstration. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University, where he studied feedback control for shape memory alloy artificial muscles.

Andrew Rains smiling in Ray Bans at the race track.

Andrew Rains

Consumer Sales

Andrew uses his experience as a founder of APEX Pro to help bring Gentle Machines to entirely new industries. Andrew is able to liaison with the technical team for product development and rapidly build custom tooling and software for your needs.

Kyle Kubik, Senior Engineer, smiling in front of a brick wall.

Kyle Kubik

Senior Engineer

Kyle brings skill and passion for programming, from video games to embedded systems. He built and maintains the MoxieCore operating system, the heart of our Motion Engine. A Mechanical Engineer from Auburn, Kyle enjoys building hardware-in-the-loop simulations that test our machines against aggressive real-world scenarios.

Bain Gurley, graphic designer and app developer, leaning against a Cessna plane.

Bain Gurley

Graphic Designer & App Developer

Bain combines the eye of an artist with deep technical skills to create powerful and stunning apps and websites. His background in biomedical science helps him translate raw sensor data and simulation results into clear and precise media for our team and products.

Lisa Whitman, Operations Manager, smiling in a teal shirt.

Lisa Whitman

Operations Manager

Lisa directs our business operations: the “behind the scenes” action that ensures you are supported by a cohesive process throughout your project execution. Bringing over 20 years of operations management experience from retail to industrial manufacturing, she has a solid skill set that includes customer service, sales, inventory control, and office management.