#374 – Robert Playter: Boston Dynamics CEO on Humanoid and Legged Robotics

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