Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter talks with Lex Fridman about legged and humanoid robotics, the company’s path from research to commercial products, and how robots may work alongside people.
Playter traces his interest in robotics to seeing Marc Raibert’s robots at MIT’s Leg Lab, where he connected gymnastics with dynamic movement. He describes using a machine’s natural physics to help with balance and control, and says it took roughly 10 to 15 years to develop natural-looking humanoid walking, from the PETMAN prototype around 2008 to Atlas in 2022.
Playter says Raibert taught the team to simplify complex challenges, beginning with a pogo stick to study legged locomotion. Boston Dynamics developed a practice of using robots, breaking them, and repairing them to find weak points. He also explains how model-predictive control helps Atlas adjust its motion in real time, including during flips and landings.
Playter describes BigDog as the company’s first self-contained legged robot, with onboard power, computers, and hydraulics. Spot grew from work on smaller electric quadrupeds and became an industrial inspection platform, while Stretch was designed to move boxes in warehouses. He says Stretch can handle boxes up to 50 pounds and is aimed at unloading trucks and other warehouse work.
Playter says industrial robots need reliable, repeatable tasks and enough demand to support sales at scale. Boston Dynamics uses fleets of robots to test reliability and sees factory monitoring as a way to prevent costly equipment failures. He also discusses how robots may change manual jobs, the company’s commitment not to weaponize its robots, and the need for people and machines to work in complementary ways.
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Marc Raibert, founder of Boston Dynamics and executive director of the Boston Dynamics AI Institute, talks with Lex Fridman on the Lex Fridman Podcast about legged robotics, robot intelligence, and the work ahead.
A Boston Dynamics Prototype Operations team member explains how the company builds and improves Atlas, from precision machining through assembly and testing, alongside its engineers.
Boston Dynamics engineers discuss the design, simulation, and dexterity of Atlas’s new hands.
Boston Dynamics’ robotics team discusses Atlas’s path to industrial work at Hyundai Motor Group’s Robotics Metaplant Application Center, with a host visiting the facility.
The Atlas Director of Robot Behavior at Boston Dynamics talks with NEXT host John Koetsier about Atlas’s design, robot intelligence, factory integration, and why legs can suit industrial work.
Chris Thorn, Atlas hardware team lead at Boston Dynamics, discusses the new Atlas design with industrial designers Aaron Abroff and James Kucera at Boston Dynamics.
