Eric Aguilar

SHACK15 spoke with member Eric Aguilar about the launch of his startup, Omnitron Sensors, which recently won Latinx Startup of the Year. Eric spoke about his trajectory in robotics which ultimately led him to develop Omnitron, which addresses what he considers fundamental flaws in sensor technology.

SHACK15: Can you talk about your background and how you founded Omnitron?

Eric Aguilar: I started my career by building sensors for drones at U.S. Navy research labs and defense contractors. I then joined a startup company that licensed Navy IP that made a revolutionary motion sensor. That led to an acquisition by Google, where I then transitioned to developing autonomous systems. I was the avionics lead at Google[x] Wing and enabled autonomous flight for their commercial delivery drones. I then worked for Tesla leading firmware and sensor integration efforts for Model 3. I was most recently at Argo AI and led the sensor integration efforts for their fleet of robo-taxis.

I am now the CEO and co-founder of Omnitron Sensors and a Board Member at Ascent Robotics. I co-founded Omnitron because I saw that in the last decade, everyone had been focused on the software of the future. But knew that these tiny MEMS components that all the big ideas for the future will rely on had been left behind. And as good as software currently is, we won’t realize the future we imagine without big steps forward in hardware.

Fundamental flaws in sensor technology that can only be solved by going back to first principles was why we founded Omnitron Sensors. Omnitron has the experience, knowledge, and talent to know what needs to be done. This is a problem that we are truly passionate about solving.

SHACK15: What is Omnitron and what are the next steps for the company?

Aguilar: Omnitron is rewriting the script on building high-performance and low-cost sensors. Our Silicon process IP will give companies the ability to design MEMS devices in 3D vs 2D. As sensors become more complex to accomplish more advanced and sophisticated tasks, having this new degree of freedom to design at the micron level will become an invaluable part of the process.

SHACK15: Omnitron recently won Latinx best start up of the year by Match-Up. What does this mean to you as a Latinx founder?

Aguilar: I am humbled by even being nominated, let alone winning. We are excited about L'Attitude's efforts and investment, along with working with their partners. They have a history in elevating the Latinx entrepreneurial community and having a strong network with our customer base in the telecom and sensor markets.

SHACK15: What words of advice do you have for Latinx entrepreneurs working in start up environments? Are there particular challenges that Hispanics face that others do not? How do you overcome these challenges?

Aguilar: Entrepreneurship is challenging and rewarding in its own right. Adding a Latinx background amplifies both. We are the Davids in the world of Goliaths, and I have found leveraging that strategy has helped me thrive in industry and as an entrepreneur. Specifically, I look for mentors that have the skills or network that I'm looking to learn and grow from. With that, I find SHACK15 a great place to network and open up opportunities for mentorship from fellow founders and visionaries.