# From teach and repeat to SelfPath AI: The next robotics leap > Source: > Published: 2026-08-28 23:25:06+00:00 In Episode 259 of *The Robot Report* Podcast, the topic is scaling robot fleets and building trust while operating in public spaces. Our guest is John Black, chief technology officer at [Brain Corp](https://www.therobotreport.com/tag/brain-corp/). He has commercialized a fleet of over 50,000 autonomous mobile robots ([AMRs](https://www.therobotreport.com/category/robots-platforms/amrs/)), which have logged more than 25 million hours of safe, real-world operation powered by BrainOS. A Carnegie Mellon University graduate, Black is a TÜV Rheinland-certified functional safety engineer and serves as board chair for the [UC San Diego](https://www.therobotreport.com/tag/university-of-california-san-diego/) Jacobs School of Engineering Corporate Affiliates Program. ## Show timeline - 10:00 – News of the week - 25:43 – [John Black](https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-b-22744b8/), CTO, Brain Corp ## News of the week [XPeng Motors humanoid robot unit Dogotix raises $900M](https://www.therobotreport.com/xpeng-motors-humanoid-robot-unit-dogotix-raises-900m/)[Generalist](https://www.therobotreport.com/tag/generalist/)[brings in another $200M in funding](https://www.axios.com/2026/08/24/robotics-ai-generalist-200m)[as it updates its model](https://generalistai.com/blog/gen-1.5)[Jetson Orin Nano 2 doubles inference performance for robotics on the edge, says NVIDIA](https://www.therobotreport.com/jetson-orin-nano-2-doubles-inference-performance-robotics-edge-says-nvidia/)[Symbotic takes No. 1 in warehouse automation, according to Interact Analysis](https://www.automatedwarehouseonline.com/symbotic-takes-no-1-warehouse-automation-market-share-says-interact-analysis/) ## Sponsors *Thanks to our sponsors who make this content possible.* To learn how you can sponsor a future episode of *The Robot Report* Podcast, contact Jami Brownlee at [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dbb1b9a9b4acb5b7bebe9bbaa9a9b4acbdb7a2f5b8b4b6) Would you like to be a guest on a future episode? Contact Mike Oitzman at [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c5a8aaacb1bfa8a4ab85a4b7b7aab2a3a9bceba6aaa8)