Robert Playter: Boston Dynamics CEO on Humanoid and Legged Robotics | Lex Fridman Podcast #374

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:
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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

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Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4
Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41

OUTLINE:
0:00 – Introduction
2:57 – Early days of Boston Dynamics
11:18 – Simplifying robots
15:16 – Art and science of robotics
19:59 – Atlas humanoid robot
36:53 – DARPA Robotics Challenge
51:13 – BigDog robot
1:05:02 – Spot robot
1:26:27 – Stretch robot
1:29:15 – Handle robot
1:34:49 – Robots in our homes
1:43:36 – Tesla Optimus robot
1:52:18 – ChatGPT
1:55:22 – Boston Dynamics AI Institute
1:56:53 – Fear of robots
2:07:16 – Running a company
2:12:52 – Consciousness
2:20:26 – Advice for young people
2:22:21 – Future of robots

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