Moore's Lobby Podcast

Ep. 20 | Dr. Aaron Edsinger, CEO & Co-founder of Hello Robot and Former Head of Robotics at Google on Humanity in Robots

Episode #20 / 33:25 / March 18, 2021 by Dave Finch
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Episode Sponsors: CUI Inc.Microchip

What does it mean to design robotics with humans in mind? This week, Dave talks with Dr. Aaron Edsinger, roboticist and CEO/Co-founder of Hello Robot.

Dr. Aaron Edsinger spent years at MIT CSAIL's Humanoid Robotics Group, building robots in the shape of human torsos under the tutelage of world-renowned roboticist Rodney Brooks. It may seem strange, then, that the flagship product at his latest startup, Hello Robot, doesn't look human at all. 

Listen in to hear about how Edsinger views the difference between startups and corporate life when it comes to innovation that truly serves people and communities well, from the iterative design process down to the pragmatism of simple design.

Edsinger has run the gamut from founding robotics startups to Head of Robotics at Google to founding robotics startups acquired by Google. Throughout, he's gained unique perspective on what it means to develop robotics that are designed for the people in the market and how that differs from designs that are market-ready. 

 

A Big Thank You to This Episode's Sponsors

    

 

Meet Dr. Aaron Edsinger

After obtaining his Ph.D. from MIT CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory), Edsinger began founding robotics startup companies. Two of these—Meka Robotics and Redwood Robotics—were acquired by Google. He served as Robotics Director at Google and has since returned to his passion of creating new companies and instilling good design in robotic products.