Shifting our lab's focus from algorithmic elegance to mechanical robustness was a controversial move
For years, our team prioritized developing sophisticated navigation algorithms in controlled environments, assuming hardware could catch up later. I insisted we halt this and begin stress-testing simple locomotor designs in unstructured settings from the start. This habit has uncovered fundamental stability issues our simulations never predicted, leading to a more resilient platform. While many colleagues favor software-first approaches, I'm convinced physical resilience must be foundational, not an afterthought.