matom.ai

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm a R&D engineer at Evocortex. We offer custom software solutions and adjustable robot platforms.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire matom.ai, and what were your goals?

The goal of our project was to extend an existing mapping software for mobile robot platforms to be able to cope with dynamic changes in the environment.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

The contact was referred to us by CIS Electronics Engineering.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

The project included the following steps:

• Literature research to find and asses exiting approaches.
• Implementation of an initial solution. This included the adjustment of other affected components.
• The functionality was verified through long running tests in a simulation environment.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

One senior engineer work on the project.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

The implemented solution is now a part of the development version our mapping and localization software. This software is currently undergoing long term testing including in an industrial environment. The results of the project were very promising.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Since the project only included only one engineer from matom.ai, we were able to use more lightweight project management. This included:

• The use of Kaban boards to lay out milestones and corresponding tasks.
• Regular meetings via MS Teams to track the project progress.
• For all issues raised in between email communication was used.
• A final presentation via MS Teams and a final report for the project results.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

This question is hard to answer because we worked directly with the engineer in question. As stated above CIS provided the contact and matom.ai was not directly involved in the project.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

While the resulting implementation works very well the code quality could be improved. Nevertheless, the project yielded valuable insights beyond its scope that helped us to isolate and fix exiting problems.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was the former CTO and co-founder of Flight Evolved, a remote sensing company in greater California. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with matom.ai?

We needed matom’s software development services. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with matom to create a web app. They provided us with updates on what challenges or milestones they’d finished, and then we integrated their outputs on GitHub, where we managed everything. Although we started from scratch, the project had an iterative process. It was dynamic and changing, and our goals on day one were vastly different from our goals in month six. 

In terms of technologies, we used the React framework with a JavaScript library on the frontend. For the backend, we used Django, a Python-based framework. There were also a couple of lightweight databases. We integrated all of these into Google Cloud and AWS platforms. 

Moreover, we had a small design team, so matom didn’t help in design as much as in actual code development. They did do frontend work, but they didn’t necessarily create wireframes. Beyond that, we’d also used them in many other projects; the web app was only the most recent one. Three years ago, for instance, we used them to develop software for Major League Baseball. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with 2–3 people from matom. We had one main point of contact who managed the engagement. Another person worked behind the scenes; he wrote algorithms and did backend analyses. 

How did you come to work with matom.ai?

I found matom online via a robotics website. They had a good reputation in the robotics world. Our main point of contact had a PhD in robotics, so he was truly well-known in that community. I decided to engage with them because of their expertise and experience, which were unmatched. They seemed to be a high-caliber and high-functioning team.  

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $150,000–$200,000 annually on their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from January 2018–November 2021. I recently stepped away from my position at the firm, which was acquired by a private equity company, so the engagement ended.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The app that matom developed for us was more capable and significantly faster than the tools and off-the-shelf solutions available on the market. In other words, the team’s work exceeded the market standard. This allowed us to improve our internal workflows and augment our capabilities better than our competitors. 

On top of that, we finished our most recent project in six months, which was quite remarkable. Our competitors had done something similar, and they were millions of dollars in debt. By contrast, we did it in a short time and spent less than half a million dollars. 

How did matom.ai perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was great. We had such a good relationship not only because matom was great at this; it was also because they had a great ability to stay on track. The team gave reasonable timelines and maintained proper expectations. These were important because if they couldn’t hit timelines and expectations, the project would be tougher. Their resources were also highly capable developers. 

To communicate, we mainly used Slack and Monday. We also occasionally used emails and conference calls. At one point, we used Teams. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The matom team was truly trustworthy. We worked in California and they were a Lithuanian team — they were halfway around the world — but we developed a good relationship with them because they were truly great people. In fact, I considered them my friends; I could stand by their work and by themselves as people. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Since they were great people, it was sometimes hard for them to say no. Maybe they wanted to do everything and help everyone for the right price and timeline, but they should learn how to deliver bad news if necessary.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Have the right expectations and good communication. When working with a high-caliber team like matom, good communication is key to the project’s success. It all boils down to that. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

University, applied research project, functional prototype. Leader of the research team.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire matom.ai, and what were your goals?

Software development, Mobile app development, computational vision...

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

Results-driven , flexible, university related

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Almost a year we were collaborating with the vendor. Starting from problem specification, R&D stages, programminig, user interfaces, testing functional prototype (wearable device).

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Three people - software developers.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Development and integration of several software packages into one system.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They were communicative, flexible, and willing to help. They met deadlines. Although not all details there achieved, but mostly due to the R&D specifics (unexpected issues).

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They were reliable, smart, and flexible.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Documentation could improve.