Talking Robots - The Podcast On Robotics And Artificial Intelligence

In this episode we interview Jean-Christophe Zufferey who is a researcher at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the EPFL in Switzerland. He presents his 10g microflyer capable of navigating autonomously in small indoor areas based on a system inspired by the fly. Miniaturization, light-weight components, energy autonomy, and autonomous navigation.. so many subjects which need to be addressed in this precambrian era of aerial robotics.

In this episode we talk to Chris Melhuish, who is the director of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory at the University of Bristol and the West of England in the UK. Whether for your iPod or robot, we all crave for a better energy autonomy. Batteries, solar panels and gas tanks are the usual, but what if machines could digest bugs or waste to get on the move?

In this episode we talk to Haruhisa Kurokawa, who is the head of the Distributed System Design Research Group, Intelligent Systems Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Japan. He presents one the leading robots in the area of self-reconfigurable modular robotics, the M-TRAN III (Modular Transformer). Their robots can change shape to walk, slither or crawl and why not become the cup of coffee you so badly need?

In this episode we talk to Martin Haegele, who is the head of the Robot Systems Department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart, Germany. With his feet well anchored to the ground, he gives us an overview of today's European robotics Market and tomorrow’s trends.

In this episode we talk to Daniel Wilson about his Rave Award winning book on "How to Survive A Robot Uprising". With his humor in pocket, Daniel walks us through the worst Sci-Fi and Hollywood robot attacks. Luckily, his PhD in robotics and army of CMU colleagues are full of resources when it comes to detecting the weak points of their robot protégés.

In this episode we talk to Roger Quinn, who is the director of the Biologically Inspired Robotics Lab at Case Western Reserve University. From the most complex to the simplest robots, whether they evolve on ground or in the air, his robots all have something to take from and something to give to the understanding of insect locomotion. Don't know what a Wheg is?

In this episode we talk to David Hanson about human-like social robots and his company Hanson Robotics. If you fancy tea with Einstein or a Sci Fi discussion with Philippe K. Dick, he might be able to provide you with some interesting look-alikes.

In this episode we talk to Yasuo Kuniyoshi about embodied cognition. By confronting his human size humanoids to their environment he proves that lifting heavy objects or performing some acrobatic moves become a piece of cake. When augmented with a pinch of chaos theory and a baby size humanoid, Yasou Kuniyoshi attempts to show us that embodied cognition might explain a lot about the way babies move and develop.

In this episode we talk to Dario Floreano about evolutionary robotics. From evolution to learning and from single robots to swarm systems, Prof. Floreano presents how evolutionary robotics can be used to understand biological systems and design efficient control for robots.

In this episode we interview Rodney Brooks on behavior based robotics. He talks about how mosquitoes in Thailand caused a fundamental shift in artificial intelligence, how to build robots that sell, and how 50 years from now you'll be fighting with your robot for spare parts.

In this episode we interview the biologist Laurent Keller on his experience with using robots for Biology. He talks about the advantages of using robots rather than theoretical models and computer simulations alone, and he comments on whether we should build animal-robot hybrids and artificial animals.

In this episode we interview Jun Tani on robot cognition and robot consciousness. He talks about robot, animal and human brains, meta-level cognition, and on his interest in building schizophrenic robots.

In this episode we interview Auke Ijspeert on his amphibious salamander robot. He explains how central pattern generators are a powerful tool to link simple high-level commands to complex patterns of locomotion including gait changes, and how they are used in his robot.

In this episode we interview Metin Sitti on nano-materials such as artificial gecko hairs for robotics. He talks about his wall-climbing robots, about the advantages of down-scaling robots, about the state of the art in micro-robotics, and about the potential of hybrid bio-mechanical robots.

In this episode of "Talking Robots" Marco Dorigo discusses his research in swarm robotics and swarm intelligence, and gives his views on the goals that should be targeted in these young disciplines as well as the challenges that researchers in these fields will face.

In this episode of "Talking Robots" we interview Rolf Pfeifer, about the last 50 years in artificial intelligence, the "new AI", the central role of embodiment for intelligence, and his new popular science book.

In this episode we interview Owen Holland about his rediscovery of the first autonomous robot ever built, his research in artificial consciousness and his life-size 'anthropomimetic' humanoid robot which closely copies human muscular and skeletal structure.

In this interview we talk to Olivier Michel, the founder of Cyberbotics Ltd., about his business experience with robot simulation, his current and future customers, software patents and on how robotics can help us to keep factories in Europe.

In this episode we interview Hod Lipson and Josh Bongard about a highly adaptive robot they built together with Victor Zykov that can continue working in spite of damage such as a lost leg, and on the future of this technology.

In this episode we interview Raja Chatila on the state of the art in robot navigation, on how to marry traditional Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) with bio-inspired, reactive approaches, and on why your living room is more complex to navigate than an extraterrestrial planet.