At a live event between Austin and San Antonio, Audrow Nash interviews UT Austin PhD student Kyle Morgenstein about safer legged robots, Durin Mining operations lead David Venegas about automating mineral exploration drilling, and BotBuilt co-founder Barrett Ames about robotic home framing.
Kyle Morgenstein describes research on robots that can operate around people, where safe contact and reliable movement matter more than impressive stunts. He combines control methods such as impedance control with reinforcement learning, which can train in simulation using varied interactions. He estimates useful, home-ready robots may be about five years away, while general purpose home assistance could take longer. He contrasts inexpensive Unitree robots, which can overheat or behave unpredictably, with costlier Boston Dynamics platforms that are more dependable and easier to program.
David Venegas explains that exploration companies use deep core samples to assess mineral deposits, and drilling can consume 80 to 85 percent of exploration costs. Durin is developing partially automated drills to reduce hazardous manual work, including handling rods and monitoring drilling. Venegas says one operator could supervise multiple stations, and that reducing injuries is a central goal. The company was pre-seed with about five people at the time of the interview.
Barrett Ames says BotBuilt uses factory robots to make custom wall panels from builders’ floor plans, then ships them for crews to assemble on site. The company processes imperfect plans by inferring design intent and generating framing layouts under construction constraints. Ames says BotBuilt had completed 25 homes, with 22 using different plans, and that panel assembly can cut on-site framing from weeks to several hours. Its software also estimates materials down to individual studs and nails, which he says can reduce material use by 20 to 40 percent.
Ames describes the challenges of manipulating bowed, twisted lumber with industrial arms, cameras, and a cutting system that brings selected pieces close to target dimensions. He says using standard lumber helps keep costs down, even though it creates perception and motion-planning difficulties. In the audience discussion, he compares robot operating costs with carpenter wages and notes that faster framing can reduce builders’ financing costs. BotBuilt had begun expanding production in North Carolina.
Briefs summarise talks and interviews; timestamps open the video at that moment. Claims in a talk are the speaker's own.
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