September 27, 2021

Mobility21 Innovation Fellow and Robotics Institute alum Joe Bartels is the CEO of a CMU spinout called Phlux Technologies. Phlux is enabling advanced capabilities in robotics and automation with a new class of programmable 3D sensors that were developed in CMU’s Imaging and Illumination Lab.

As a Mobility21 Innovation Fellow, Joe focused on early commercialization activities including prototype development and customer discovery research in robotics, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and industrial automation. During this process, Joe worked with Tepper MBA students supported by Mobility21 to tune Phlux’s early business model, value proposition, and customer profile.

Joe is currently leading Phlux through an evaluation program of their sensors with a global automotive company and is lining up other pilots in robotics and industrial automation.