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Ryan Gariepy

Ryan Gariepy is a Canadian roboticist who co-founded Clearpath Robotics and helped launch its OTTO Motors division, which build autonomous mobile robots for research and industry. A University of Waterloo mechatronics graduate, he started Clearpath in 2009 with three fellow graduates and served as its chief technology officer. In August 2014, he drafted Clearpath's pledge against building lethal autonomous weapons, and in 2017 he was the first to sign an open letter to the United Nations from 116 robotics and AI founders calling for a ban. Rockwell Automation acquired the companies in October 2023, and OTTO won the 2025 IERA Award. He is Vice President of Robotics at Rockwell Automation.

Now at
Rockwell Automation and Canadian Robotics Council
Born
1986
Works
4
Citations
10
h-index
2
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 2009–2012

    Mechatronics studies at Waterloo

    Born in Barrie, Ontario, in 1986, he earns a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2009. He completes a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering there in 2012.

  2. 2009

    Co-founding Clearpath Robotics

    In 2009, he co-founds Clearpath Robotics in Waterloo with fellow Waterloo graduates Matt Rendall, Pat Martinson and Bryan Webb, and serves as its chief technology officer. The company starts out streamlining field robotics research for universities and private corporations.

  3. 2012

    Open Robotics founding board

    In 2012, he joins the founding board of Open Robotics, then the Open Source Robotics Foundation, which is set up to keep the work on the Robot Operating System (ROS) going. He also helps start the ROS Developer Conference, which he has co-organized since 2012.

  4. 2014–2017

    Pledging against killer robots

    In August 2014, Clearpath becomes the first robotics company to pledge not to make lethal autonomous weapons, in an open letter that he drafts. In 2017, he is the first to sign an open letter to the United Nations from 116 founders of robotics and AI companies in 26 countries, urging an international ban on such weapons.

  5. 2015

    Launching OTTO Motors

    In 2015, he helps launch OTTO Motors, Clearpath's division for self-driving industrial vehicles that move material inside factories and warehouses. The University of Waterloo's Faculty of Engineering awards him and his three Clearpath co-founders its Team Alumni Achievement Medal.

  6. 2023

    Acquisition by Rockwell Automation

    In October 2023, Rockwell Automation acquires Clearpath Robotics and OTTO Motors. He leads Canada's largest mobile robotics development team, with thousands of robots deployed worldwide, and has over 80 patents in the field.

  7. 2025

    OTTO wins the IERA Award

    In 2025, OTTO by Rockwell Automation wins the Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Robotics & Automation (IERA), presented by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and the International Federation of Robotics. The award recognizes OTTO as the first company to build an autonomous mobile robot solution that carries heavy loads through factories and runs in fleets of more than 100 robots; he accepts it as Rockwell's Vice President of Robotics.

  8. As of October 2026

    Vice president of robotics

    He is Vice President of Robotics at Rockwell Automation, the company that acquired Clearpath and OTTO in 2023. He serves as chair of the Canadian Robotics Council, which takes part in national conversations about productivity, self-sufficiency and responsible technology adoption.

Career

  1. Since 2023Rockwell AutomationVice President of Robotics
  2. NowCanadian Robotics CouncilChair
  3. From 2012Open RoboticsFounding board member
  4. From 2009Clearpath RoboticsCo-founder and Chief Technology Officer

Education

  1. 2012University of WaterlooMaster's degree in Mechanical Engineering
  2. 2009University of WaterlooBachelor of Applied Science in Mechatronics Engineering

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Position control of a 6×6 ATV using a MIMO fuzzy controller2010 · American Control Conference · 4 citations
  2. UAV Motion Estimation Using Low Quality Image Features2010 · AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference and Exhibit · 4 citations
  3. Quadrotor Position Estimation using Low Quality Images2011 · 2 citations
  4. Where Do We Go From Here? Debates on the Future of Robotics Research at ICRA 2019 [From the Field]2019 · IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine · 0 citationsWith Aude Billard, John J. Leonard, Jonathan P. How and Oliver Brock

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Waterloo. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Waterloo. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Waterloo. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of Waterloo. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Ryan Gariepy yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Ryan Gariepy - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Team Alumni Achievement Medal past recipients | Engineering | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Clearpath Robotics - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Special Conversation with Ryan Gariepy from Clearpath Robotics | Engineering | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Company pledges it won't develop killer robots - Stop Killer Robots stopkillerrobots.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Clearpath Founder Signs Open Letter to UN for Ban on Autonomous Weapons - Clearpath Robotics clearpathrobotics.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Awards dinner celebrates students, staff, faculty, supporters and alumni | Engineering | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. Ryan Gariepy | Robotics Summit & Expo roboticssummit.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Pioneering Robot "OTTO" Wins the 2025 IERA Award - International Federation of Robotics ifr.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  10. Made by Waterloo: Why the future of robotics is being built in Waterloo | University of Waterloo uwaterloo.ca. Checked 20 October 2026.