# Ken Goldberg on robotic grasping; Carbon Robotics’ new weeding robot

- Show: [The Robot Report Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast)
- Published: 2021-04-16
- Length: 1h 17m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-04-16-ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot
- Listen: https://soundcloud.com/robot-report-podcast/ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot

## Summary

Ken Goldberg and Jim Liefer of Ambi Robotics discuss their Sim2Real AI approach to robotic grasping, explaining how they trained neural networks on simulation data to handle diverse e-commerce objects without human intervention. Paul Mikesell, founder of Carbon Robotics, details the development of their third-generation autonomous weeding robot, which uses high-powered lasers and computer vision to identify and destroy weeds in row crops. The episode also covers WTWH Media's acquisition of Mobile Robot Guide and updates on the Mars 2020 Ingenuity helicopter.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-04-16-ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot#t=0) Introduction and Mobile Robot Guide Acquisition
- [10:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-04-16-ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot#t=653) Ambi Robotics: Genesis and DexNet Origins
- [19:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-04-16-ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot#t=1193) Sim2Real AI and Grasping Technology
- [35:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-04-16-ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot#t=2129) Commercialization, Amazon Demo, and Business Model
- [47:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-04-16-ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot#t=2850) Carbon Robotics: Laser Weeding and AI Vision
- [59:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-04-16-ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot#t=3583) Carbon Robotics: Hardware, Power, and ROI
- [1:12:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-04-16-ken-goldberg-on-robotic-grasping-carbon-robotics-new-weeding-robot#t=4379) Mars 2020 Ingenuity Update and Outro

## Topics

- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Ambi Robotics (company)
- Dexnet (product)
- Carbon Robotics (company)
- Mobile Robot Guide (company)
- WTWH Media (company)
- Kindred AI (company)
- Boston Dynamics (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Ingenuity (product)
- Mars 2020 (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [44. How Computer Vision Is Changing Your World](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2021-11-16-44-how-computer-vision-is-changing-your-world) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [Episode Seven - Agricultural Robotics: Farming for the future](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2021-04-30-episode-seven-agricultural-robotics-farming-for-the-future) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode 81: Vision for self-driving cars - Vassia Simaiaki](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-04-19-episode-81-vision-for-self-driving-cars-vassia-simaiaki) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode 74: Teaching robots to grasp - Edward Johns](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-02-23-episode-74-teaching-robots-to-grasp-edward-johns) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode 164: Accelerating robot learning - Michelle Lu](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-10-02-episode-164-accelerating-robot-learning-michelle-lu) (Robot Talk)

## Citing this page

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