Lex Fridman Podcast
#374 – Robert Playter: Boston Dynamics CEO on Humanoid and Legged Robotics
28 Apr 2023
Robert Playter is CEO of Boston Dynamics, a legendary robotics company that over 30 years has created some of the most elegant, dextrous, and simply amazing robots ever built, including the humanoid robot Atlas and the robot dog Spot. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/lex to get free product tour - Linode: https://linode.com/lex to get $100 free credit - LMNT: https://drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack EPISODE LINKS: Boston Dynamics YouTube: https://youtube.com/@bostondynamics Boston Dynamics Twitter: https://twitter.com/BostonDynamics Boston Dynamics Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bostondynamicsofficial Boston Dynamics Website: https://bostondynamics.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) - Introduction (07:18) - Early days of Boston Dynamics (15:39) - Simplifying robots (19:37) - Art and science of robotics (24:20) - Atlas humanoid robot (41:14) - DARPA Robotics Challenge (55:34) - BigDog robot (1:09:23) - Spot robot (1:30:48) - Stretch robot (1:33:36) - Handle robot (1:39:10) - Robots in our homes (1:47:57) - Tesla Optimus robot (1:56:39) - ChatGPT (1:59:43) - Boston Dynamics AI Institute (2:01:14) - Fear of robots (2:11:36) - Running a company (2:17:13) - Consciousness (2:24:46) - Advice for young people (2:26:42) - Future of robots
Full Episode
The following is a conversation with Robert Plater, CEO of Boston Dynamics, a legendary robotics company that over 30 years has created some of the most elegant, dexterous, and simply amazing robots ever built, including the humanoid robot Atlas and the robot dog Spot.
one or both of whom you've probably seen on the internet either dancing, doing backflips, opening doors, or throwing around heavy objects. Robert has led both the development of Boston Dynamics humanoid robots and their physics-based simulation software. He has been with the company from the very beginning, including its roots at MIT, where he received his PhD in aeronautical engineering.
This was in 1994 at the legendary MIT Leg Lab. He wrote his PhD thesis on robot gymnastics. as part of which he programmed a bipedal robot to do the world's first 3D robotic somersault. Robert is a great engineer, roboticist, and leader, and Boston Dynamics, to me as a roboticist, is a truly inspiring company.
This conversation was a big honor and pleasure, and I hope to do a lot of great work with these robots in the years to come. And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description. It's the best way to support this podcast. We got NetSuite for business management software, Linode for Linux systems, and Element for zero sugar electrolytes. Choose wisely, my friends.
Also, if you want to work with our team, we're always hiring. Go to lexfriedman.com slash hiring. And now onto the full ad reads. As always, no ads in the middle. I try to make this interesting. But if you must commit the horrible, terrible crime of skipping them, please do check out our sponsors. I do enjoy their stuff. I really do. And maybe you will as well.
This show is brought to you by NetSuite, an all-in-one cloud business management system. Running a business, as this podcast reveals, from Robert Plater and Boston Dynamics is really hard. It's not just about the design of the systems.
It's not just about the engineering, the software, the hardware, all the complicated research that goes into it, all the different prototypes, all the failure upon failure upon failure in the early stages, in the middle stages of getting these incredible robots to work. It's all the glue that ties a company together. And for that, you have to use the best tools for the job.
I hope to run a business, a large business that actually builds stuff one day. And boy, is it much more than just the innovation and the engineering. I understand that deeply. And you should be hiring the best team for that job and use the best tools for that job. And that's where NetSuite can help out, hopefully can help you out. You can start now with no payment or interest for six months.
Go to netsuite.com slash lex to access their one-of-a-kind financing program. That's netsuite.com slash lex. This episode is also brought to you by Linode, now called Akamai and their incredible Linux virtual machines. I sing praises to the greatest operating systems of all time, which is Linux. There's so many different beautiful flavors of Linux.
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