Lex Fridman Podcast Vijay Kumar: Flying Robots
Sep 8, 2019
Vijay Kumar, a leading expert in robotics and Dean of Penn Engineering, dives deep into the fascinating world of flying robots. He shares insights from his early experiences with a large hexapod robot and discusses the evolution of robotic coordination, emphasizing the complexities of modern UAVs. Drawing inspiration from the resilience of ants, Kumar explores swarm behavior and the need for true autonomy in robotics. He also highlights advancements in quadcopter technology and the challenges of trajectory planning, human-robot collaboration, and the future of flying vehicles.
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First Robot
- Vijay Kumar's first robot was a 7,000-pound hexapod built in the 80s.
- It had 18 hydraulic motors, each with a dedicated processor, plus a 19th for coordination.
Beauty in Robotics
- For Kumar, the beauty in robotics comes from distributed cooperation of small UAVs.
- Creating and deforming 3D patterns in the sky with these robots is especially elegant.
Drones vs. Robots
- Vijay Kumar dislikes the word "drone" due to its negative connotations of pre-programmed simplicity.
- He prefers "agile, autonomous aerial robot" to emphasize the robots' capabilities.