Bruce Schena | Electromechanical Product Design

Design of complex electro-mechanical products requiring a comprehensive systems viewpoint & multi-disciplinary skills


Welcome to the web-home of Bruce Schena, electromechanical engineering & product design consultant located in the San Francisco Bay Area. I work primarily in the area of “smart” consumer products, robotic systems, haptics, and machine design. These products typically use cutting edge technologies, design methodologies, new materials, rapid prototyping, new manufacturing methods, integrated industrial design, sophisticated electronics & control, and teams of highly motivated smart people. In many cases, substantial strategic Intellectual Property (IP) has been developed and protected via US and international patents - I am currently named as inventor or co-inventor on 146 issued US patents, with over 135 additional issued or pending worldwide.

Very often, these products are “first of its kind” market entries enabled by new technologies being commercialized for the first time. In contrast to the more predictable “evolutionary” design, I tend to gravitate toward developments involving technology transfer from successful R&D efforts into the commercial marketplace. Having extensive experience in both technology R&D and front-line, high-volume product design gives me a unique appreciation for the difficulty and opportunity of this exciting transition process. I have participated in these efforts as an individual technical contributor, engineering team leader, entrepreneur, senior management, and staff mentor - in some cases all of them concurrently. I have also participated in the classic "garage-to-IPO" Silicon Valley startup experience, been corporate spokesperson to press and analyst communities, and have served as a Board Member for a publicly-traded company (NASDAQ: IMMR) having a market capitalization (1999-2000) of over a Billion dollars. That said, my first love is engineering design -- creating "new things that wiggle" in particular.

After 13 years at Intuitive Surgical and 2+ years at X Inc (formerly Google[x]), I'm now back out on my own doing freelance product design and engineering consulting.

 

 

Here is an example of the kind of work I do - the Intuitive Surgical daVinci Xi robotic surgery system:

Here's a front view of the machine:

...And a Side View of the arm cluster:

For much more information please hop over to the Intuitive website for the Xi and be sure to check out the video!

Some of my other "mission critical" projects have included:

I have also been deeply involved with consumer, professional, and industrial products like:

Please have a look around to get a flavor of the kind of work that I love to do. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss potential new opportunities.

Thanks!

-Bruce