Meet the Founder Building IKEA for Space | Mitch Fogelson of Beyond Reach Labs

You might think the final frontier is in space, but the technology getting us there is being built right here in Pittsburgh. In this episode of Thought Liters: Mitch Fogelson, founder of Beyond Reach Labs, discusses "physical intelligence", which is the hardware side of robotics often overshadowed by AI.Mitch breaks down how his company is creating structures that pack flat (like IKEA furniture) but deploy into massive, rigid infrastructure for lunar habitats, solar arrays, and even disaster relief towers on Earth.In this episode, we cover:Why robots need "Physical Intelligence," not just AI.How to fit a skyscraper in a backpack (literally).Why Taylor Swift’s tour trucks could be reduced by 90%.The future of "Space LEGOs" and artificial gravity stations.Why Pittsburgh is the champion city for deep tech founders.00:00 The Final Frontier is in Pittsburgh 01:35 Flight 103:17 The "Googly Eyed Robot" that started it all 04:37 Why Japan loves robots (and the West fears them) 06:33 Talking to robots before LLMs existed 09:42 Flight 210:17 What is "Physical Intelligence"? 11:45 Artificial gravity & spinning space stations 13:37 Demo: Hoberman spheres & pop-up trusses 18:42 How to fit a space station in a suitcase 23:04 Flight 323:28 Disaster relief: Cell towers in backpacks 27:35 COWs (Cell on Wheels) vs. Cheetahs 29:56 Reducing Taylor Swift's 90-truck tour convoy 33:59 Flight 434:21 Space LEGOs & Lunar Homes 37:10 Drug discovery & solar energy in space 39:06 Digital Twins: Solving the James Webb problem 41:28 Surviving the "Vomit Comet" (Zero-G Flight) 43:08 Flight 5 43:49 The Founder Mentality: Working backwards 46:27 Why build Deep Tech in Pittsburgh? 49:35 How to avoid "Shiny Object Syndrome" 52:43 Flight 653:04 Vision: Becoming the IKEA of space infrastructure 57:31 Final Advice: Be like a duck 59:12 OutroThis episode is part of our Six Pack mini-series with Innovation Works, spotlighting the founders and leaders building Pittsburgh's future.#businesspodcast #pittsburgh #thoughtlitersWHAT IS THOUGHT LITERS?Thought Liters is a series created and hosted by Adam Conner. On the show, Adam learns from the top of the world through the bottom of their glass. Each episode, we share a flight of local craft with the best and brightest brand minds around – whether it be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an artist, or otherwise. The questions evolve as the sip changes.The show is proudly founded and produced in Pittsburgh, PA.The whole goal is to have conversations about business with a more lighthearted look and feel. Adam thinks most business content is dry, and wants to change that.If you’re interested, follow along! If not, that’s cool too. But if you wanna be where the thought leaders are…you’ll tune in to where Thought Liters is.