Rika Antonova, associate professor at the University of Cambridge, discusses co-evolving robot hardware and reinforcement learning algorithms with Robot Talk host Claire Asher.
Antonova describes co-evolution as developing a robot’s physical form alongside the software that controls it. Faster prototyping now makes it possible to change shapes, materials, and motors while algorithms can be modified and trained rapidly. In simulation, researchers can run from thousands to millions of iterations before testing promising designs on real hardware.
Antonova’s work starts with general algorithms that explore possible robot bodies and behaviors, rather than a single task. Real-world constraints such as material curing times and assembly speed limit which hardware variations can be tested. Software offers a much larger search space, so researchers need to structure it to explore useful possibilities efficiently.
Hardware can expand what a robot can do as well as constrain it. Antonova points to silicone-like materials that cushion contact, helping robots handle objects with gentler forces. Her team’s paper “Structural Affinity” uses shape-morphing methods to favor designs that are smoother, more manufacturable, and easier for people to understand.
By keeping robot designs feasible for real experiments, the team sees task-relevant adaptations, such as a fingertip feature that can get beneath an object. Antonova also describes Co-design Gym, a framework for studying co-design across robotics and other domains, including power grids, games, and Pokémon teams. In the ARIA Robot Dexterity program, her group is developing efficient search and hardware-in-the-loop methods, with possible applications in gentle handling of medical instruments and sensing force on soft objects.
Briefs summarise talks and interviews; timestamps open the video at that moment. Claims in a talk are the speaker's own.
Aaron Edsinger, Hello Robot’s CEO and co-founder, talks with Claire Asher on Robot Talk about designing practical assistive robots, safety, and bringing Stretch into homes.
Allison Okamura, a Stanford University engineering professor, discusses human-centered robotics, haptic feedback, wearable devices, and soft robots for medicine, learning, and hazardous environments with Robot Talk host Claire Asher.
Josie Hughes, assistant professor at EPFL and head of the CREATE Lab, discusses AI-assisted robot design, soft robotics, and reconfigurable machines with Robot Talk host Claire Asher.
Rich Walker, director of Shadow Robot Company, discusses dexterous robot hands, their design trade-offs, and the challenges of bringing robotics into practical use with Robot Talk host Claire Asher.
Amir Patel, associate professor at University College London, discusses how robotics can reveal how cheetahs move and how those findings inform agile robots, wildlife monitoring, and animal health research with Robot Talk host Claire Asher.
Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, assistant professor at Ohio Northern University, discusses bipedal robot control, stair climbing, safety, and robotics education with Robot Talk host Claire Asher.
