{"id":92796,"title":"Flywheel AI: Waymo for excavators","tagline":"Enable remote teleoperation in excavators to increase safety and productivity","body":"Hey everyone! We’re[ Jash](https://linkedin.com/in/jashmota) and[ Mahimana](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahimanabhatt/) - co-founders of Flywheel AI - we enable remote control for excavators on construction sites.\n\nWe do this by enabling remote teleoperation. We then use the teleoperated excavators to collect the datasets needed to automate the machines.\n\nhttps://youtu.be/Kpbor3M6Mr8\n\n**🚧Problem**\n\nConstruction industry has some troubling trends:\n\n* **1 million worker shortage** in the US alone\n* **1000+ deaths annually** from safety incidents (and rising)\n* **Hundreds of thousands in penalties** + multi-week shutdowns per incident\n* **40% operational downtime** due to blind spots and inefficiencies\n\nIt’s **Dull, Dirty, Dangerous**, dialed to the max!\n\nThe problem is global and getting worse as the workforce ages and recruitment plummets.\n\n**👷The Flywheel Solution**\n\n**🚜Retrofit**\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=92796\u0026key=user_uploads/367031/4e9829e3-a90f-4d93-b08f-d17cb961ea7f)\n\nWe engineered a new way to retrofit heavy equipment, which is machine-agnostic and compatible with pretty much any hydraulic equipment. These can be installed in few hours and don’t block manual operations.\n\n**🕹️Remote Teleop**\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=92796\u0026key=user_uploads/367031/cb9452e8-c8eb-4b0f-9a2f-37cfb58a1314)\n\nWe built a low-latency remote teleop + dataset collection platform with the ability to remotely turn on/off the machines and let supervisors take over at any time. This enables controlling the fleet even from a minimal setup of laptop and joysticks.\n\n**⚡Workflow Autonomy**\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=92796\u0026key=user_uploads/367031/a75da0c3-ee2b-4b86-9f6f-5108e7a5423b)\n\nWe use data from actual operations and robot learning to train models which does various tasks like dig and dump, trenching, grading and more. This will enable a single operator to manage more machines and sites at the same time.\n\n**We’re Flywheel AI**\n\n![uploaded image](/media/?type=post\u0026id=92796\u0026key=user_uploads/367031/e752210f-530c-4dd4-9b25-475ea1137089)\n\nJash previously built remote teleop tool with companies like Accenture as users. Mahi built the data and ML pipeline at Motional which runs over 50K simulations everyday. Together we have built various robots and spent many hours on the sites in hard hats and safety shoes!\n\n**Our Ask**\n\nIf you or a construction contractor/sub-contractor you know struggles with site safety and operator performance,[ book a meeting](https://calendly.com/jash-mota/flywheel-sales) to learn more about our solution and installation process!\n\nCall us at 415 714 7580 or email at [contact@useflywheel.ai](mailto:contact@useflywheel.ai)","slug":"O8i-flywheel-ai-waymo-for-excavators","created_at":"2025-08-06T22:34:27.016Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T17:48:02.532Z","total_vote_count":161,"url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/O8i-flywheel-ai-waymo-for-excavators","share_image_url":"https://www.ycombinator.com/media/?type=post\u0026id=92796\u0026key=user_uploads/367031/e752210f-530c-4dd4-9b25-475ea1137089","company":{"id":30771,"name":"Flywheel AI","slug":"flywheel-ai","url":"https://useflywheel.ai/","logo":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/20c7285daed594e49818c41dd7e677796b8e4b61.png","batch":"Summer 2025","industry":"Industrials","tags":["Deep Learning","Hardware","Construction"],"search_path":"https://bookface.ycombinator.com/company/30771"}}