207: I Love My Robot Monkey Head (Repeat)

Embedded.fm · 12 Mar 2020 · 1h 00m · Episode 207

What this episode covers

Professor Ayanna Howard of Georgia Tech discusses her research on designing robots to interact with children with special needs, focusing on kinematic modeling, emotional expression, and the phenomenon of human-robot trust. She explains how robots like the Nao and Darwin Mini are used to engage users, detailing the technical challenges of creating fluid motion and reactive behaviors. Howard also addresses the 'uncanny valley,' the risks of over-trusting autonomous systems like self-driving cars, and offers advice for hobbyists and students on getting started with robotics platforms like Lego Mindstorms and ROS.

Mentioned

Companies
Georgia Tech, Aldebran, Soft Bank, SparkFun, Tesla, Waymo, iRobot
Products
Nao, Darwin Mini, Lego Mindstorms, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, da Vinci
Also
EngineerGirl.org

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