Humanoid Robotics: Challenges and Potential

Boris Sofman is the Senior Director Of Engineering and Head of Trucking at Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car project. He was also the CEO and co-founder of Anki, a home robotics company. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– LMNT: https://drinkLMNT.com/lex to get free sample pack
– Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lex and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil
– ROKA: https://roka.com/ and use code LEX to get 20% off your first order
– Indeed: https://indeed.com/lex to get $75 credit
– BetterHelp: https://betterhelp.com/lex to get 10% off

EPISODE LINKS:
Boris’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/bsofman
Boris’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsofman
Waymo’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/waymo
Waymo’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/waymo
Waymo’s Website: https://waymo.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
(07:32) – Robots in science fiction
(13:13) – Cozmo
(38:28) – AI companions
(45:23) – Anki
(1:10:56) – Waymo Via
(1:42:34) – Sensor suites for long haul trucking
(1:52:30) – Machine learning
(2:10:26) – Waymo vs Tesla
(2:21:02) – Safety and risk management
(2:30:06) – Societal effects of automation
(2:41:11) – Amazon Astro
(2:45:35) – Challenges of the robotics industry
(2:50:03) – Humanoid robotics
(2:57:06) – Advice for getting a PhD in robotics
(3:04:37) – Advice for robotics startups
(3:15:43) – Advice for students