Physical AI Meetup

Hear 3 expert talks, take the mic for an AI/hardware demo or announcement, and connect over pizza & drinks.

A big thanks to our Ecosystem Partner, Stone & Chalk – Australia's largest innovation community, connecting founders at Tech Central with the capital, customers, and community to build and scale emerging technologies.

Pizza and drinks for this meetup are made possible by our sponsor, The Onset – specialists in tech recruitment and executive search, building teams and shaping careers across Australia.

Take the mic at our community open mic.
Share a quick demo, prototype, or announcement – whether it's AI, hardware, or something you're building. All welcome.

Agenda:

6:00 - 6:30 pm | Check-in, Pizza & Networking
Please have your Eventbrite ticket ready at check-in – then enjoy pizza, drinks, and time to connect with other attendees.

6:30 - 6:35 pm | Welcome & Intro
Hear a short welcome from the organiser.

6:35 - 7:00 pm | Talk 1: Teaching Robots to Think on Their Feet

• Overview: Humanoid robots are moving from lab demos to real-world deployments, but what does it actually take to make them useful? This talk introduces the AI architectures powering the next generation of robot intelligence. It unpacks what these technologies are, how they work together, and the practical challenges of deploying them.
• Speaker: Thomas van Bruggen (Lead Engineer, Anitron)
  Thomas van Bruggen is the Lead Engineer at Anitron, a Sydney-based startup developing lightweight, adaptive task intelligence for humanoid robots. At Anitron, he leads the engineering effort to build AI systems that enable robots to complete tasks through natural language interaction. He was previously the Robotics Lead at Abyss Solutions, where he worked on autonomous inspection systems for critical infrastructure using robotics and computer vision.

7:00 - 7:25 pm | Talk 2: Radio Frequency Machine Learning on the Edge

• Overview: Machine learning is mainstream, but real-time radio frequency (RF) systems demand levels of timing precision and performance that standard ML platforms aren't designed for. This talk reviews the use of machine learning techniques in RF applications such as modulation classification (Automated Modulation Classification - AMC) and RF fingerprinting (Specific Emitter Identification - SEI). It also covers examples of implementation using reconfigurable computing (such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays).
• Speakers: Barry Flower (CEO, CruxML) & Philip Leong (CTO, CruxML)
  Dr Barry Flower is CEO of CruxML, a Sydney-based company enabling real-time machine learning systems leveraging FPGA expertise for intelligent sensing applications. He has over 30 years of experience as a CEO, CIO, technology executive, researcher, and entrepreneur. He brings a global track record of delivering large-scale technology projects across corporate and startup environments. His expertise spans AI, machine learning, software and hardware engineering. Barry holds a PhD in Electronic Engineering and AI.
  Prof. Philip Leong is CTO of CruxML, Professor of Computer Systems at the University of Sydney, and Visiting Professor at Imperial College London. His expertise spans FPGA applications and architectures, as well as low-precision neural networks. He has co-founded and chaired major international conferences in field-programmable technology and held senior editorial roles. Philip has authored over 200 technical papers and holds 5 patents.

7:25 - 7:50 pm | Talk 3: Lessons Learned Living on the Edge with Tiliter's AI Scale

• Overview: Deploying AI-powered edge systems in real-world environments is hard – reliability, rollout logistics, and operating in the field introduce challenges that don't show up in testing. At Tiliter, thousands of Vision AI edge devices were deployed across grocery stores in Australia, with many lessons learned along the way. This talk distils the key lessons into a "note to self" on deploying at scale with a small, highly constrained team.
• Speaker: Ben Weir (Program Manager, Tiliter)
  Ben Weir is a Program Manager at Tiliter, a Sydney-based company building Vision AI Agents that recognise products and automate visual workflows in real time. Since 2019, he has managed projects to design, test, and deploy hardware and software in Woolworths stores across Australia. Before joining Tiliter, Ben held engineering roles in validation and test systems at ResMed and Cochlear.

7:50 - 8:00 pm | Community Open Mic
Short informal shares – demo, prototype, or quick announcement (hiring, collaboration, project updates). 1-2 minutes each.

8:00 pm | Wrap-up & Networking
Any further Q&As and chats will happen here.

About the Physical AI Meetup
Launched in Sydney and now across Melbourne and Perth, we're growing a hands-on community where engineers, founders, academics, and other enthusiasts come together to explore AI and hardware in real-world systems.
Join the Meetup group here to stay in the loop on upcoming events.