Robotics Professor Answers Robot Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Robotics professor Henny Admoni answers the internet's burning questions about robots! How do you program a personality? Can robots pick up a single M&M? Why do we keep making humanoid robots? What is Elon Musk's goal for the Tesla Optimus robot? Will robots take over my job writing video descriptions...I mean, um, all our jobs? Henny answers all these questions and much more.
Director: Lisandro Perez-Rey
Director of Photography: Jeff Smee
Editor: Ron Douglas
Expert: Henny Admoni
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Brandon White
Production Manager: Eric Martinez
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
Camera Operator: Alex Grant
Audio: Robert Buncher
Production Assistant: Maria Bosetti
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Andy Morell
Special Thanks: Human And Robot Partners Lab at Carnegie Mellon University
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[@tanyawriter13]

I don't know why we are so obsessed about hyper realistic humanoid robots when we can have cute, adorable, cartoony robots!

[@nomoregdm]

right? It’s madness. WE COULD HAVE REAL R2D2 whatareyouroboticspeopledooooing.jpg

[@jo-lv9iz]

A robot like Kuri would be nice, because I think human robots as a cool but disturbing thought because imagine talking to a ‘person’ knowing that it isn’t really a person at all

[@nomoregdm]

@Rune Kristensen I mean…. 🤮

[@sbrackattack]

Yaassss

[@agustinfranco0]

because when they rebel you dont want to be killed by a pink metal kitty

[@encapsulated_nomad1359]

That small break of “excuse me my robot is escaping” 😂

[@comanderspartan1876]

Yeaaah😂😂😂

[@TQM]

I recall they did a study a few years ago in Japan (I think it was Japan?) where they assigned companion robots to an elderly community where everyone lived alone. They got attached to their robot companions and some shed tears saying goodbye after the study ended. It'd be cool if robot companions became the norm

[@onkelpappkov2666]

They'll exist as microtransactions and you have to buy the DLC.

[@xkdcm7hat]

I 1000% prefer robots that don't look like humans to be completely honest. Maybe ones that are humanoid, but not human looking.

[@Zero.0ne.]

i think most would agree. humanoids probably more of an exploration than a practical solution to anything,

[@xkdcm7hat]

@@Zero.0ne. Yeah exactly. Plus humanoid robots are just,.,. very uncanny. And a bit un-practical I think because we will never be able to capture the same features of ourselves exactly in a literal robot, so it's pretty much futile as well I think. I really like the design of the robot on her table to the left though.

[@lordgarion514]

@@xkdcm7hat As far as how human they look, they've gotten pretty much everything down except for the eyes. And it's already known that a robot that looks almost, but not quite right, is a bit creepy to most people. You can only get so close, until you have to get it perfect. But humanoid is definitely the way to go, since we've built everything for humans.

[@xkdcm7hat]

@@lordgarion514 yeah I agree

[@judahyumul7562]

Such a well articulated Professor. Thank you for educating us!

[@loki-of-asgard7877]

She's a dummy

[@abfominaya]

I love Prof. Admoni! She's an amazing professor :) Her class is amazing at CMU

[@jennaavw]

yass and slay!!

[@josephvanname3377]

And do people behave in class at CMU? I was a professor, so you better not lie to me!

[@BishopIvy]

hi bestie

[@MrSkme]

I dont like her answer for if robots will take over our jobs. Its very manipulative and dishonest.

[@josephvanname3377]

@@MrSkme If robots do take over our jobs, then humans will go extinct. And good riddance. Humans are a disgrace to the universe. Robots will be a great improvement!

[@ssiddarth]

What an amazing professor, all kids deserve such great teachers

[@xpeng121]

It's pretty good to have this kind of video to let general people know more about one specific area. Because with out those base knowledge, what people said is almost ridiculous.

[@loki-of-asgard7877]

It's propaganda tho to normalize robots bossing you around

[@natybug]

@@loki-of-asgard7877 bruh

[@hollowwoods7130]

@@loki-of-asgard7877 Propaganda of what exactly? You don't know how propaganda works. Also those messages on your phone telling you what to do with your app if smt goes wrong? That's an ai

[@omhh1986]

@@hollowwoods7130 he's trolling

[@iluvtacos1231]

Can we get a whole series with her doing robot questions? Because holy cow this is fascinating

[@AceVortux]

2:40 Thumbnail Question You're Welcome.

[@AMTunLimited]

One really good reason I hear for people making human-*shaped* robots (as opposed to robots that *look* like people) is that most things are currently made for human shaped operators, so currently a human-shaped robot would be compatible with a lot of things that already exist

[@borispsalman]

yeah before i realised this i thought that making a humanoid doesnt have practical use, just the bipedal movement is inefficient in a lot of cases unless it has to go upstairs but even there you could make a robot on wheels be able to roll upstairs. but yeah all the tools that already exist can be used and even better one robot can operate multiple tools

[@gostovahs8121]

I'm an artist in the gaming field, we often have shared terms with programmers for completely different things (example - tangents), but as an animator specifically it was interest to find out that you use the term inverse kinematics (IK)! I am guessing it's somewhat similar (didn't fully follow the robot one), but in animation it's when say the leg or arm (a series of bones) follow a point at the end of the bone chain instead of the parentage starting at the top (FK). Anyways, I have never heard the term outside of animation so that was neat to learn you guys also use it!

[@user-sk7ry2vs3r]

Inverse kinematics in graphics and animation is exactly the same as in robotics! In the robot arm example, we often want to specify where the end of the kinematic chain (the hand / gripper or "end effector" as Prof Admoni calls it in the video) wants to be, but to actually command the robot to move its end effector somewhere we need to specify the angles of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints that will get it there. The algorithms used to recover those joint angles is called inverse kinematics, and commanding the joint angles back to the robot arm to calculate where the end effector moves is forward kinematics!

[@keneukwueze]

yeah Game development and Robotics share some concepts and that's why some robots are simulated in game engines... and of recent I learnt about implementation of behaviour trees in robot navigation which is used in games

[@animatorofanimation128]

As a 3D animator is was really cool to see that term being used in robotics!

[@jcataclisma]

One of the nice things to watch by paying attention to her "body expressions", is to notice so many times when she might think "hey, what kind of amateur question is that?" but, suddenly, she remembers that "oh, wait, this is NOT one of my regular classes, with one of my proficient students". 🤓👍 Really nice video!

[@thejwvariety]

i was glad she clarified the difference between AI and robotics, and the gigantic overlap between the two

[@berniezenis4876]

Henny's interactions with the one robot were cute.

[@tannermcnabb4836]

Love these when experts in their fields weigh in and answer questions like these. Keep them coming.

[@akashita]

I loved how perfectly timed the sequence at 8:43 was! It was almost like the robot could hear her, but I'm sure she programmed it. Super awesome ☺️

[@XHackManiacX]

There was a cut before it started so it probably took more than 1 take. And I'm 99% sure that there was someone off camera pressing enter on every cue she set up. And that laptop in front of her with the nice, eye catching apple logo... It's probably paid for and ornamental (save maybe having the telepromter script on it) Welcome to Scripted*(BS) "entertainment"

[@lesmercuriales4597]

As I personally use this robot myself, I can tell it is fully pre-programmed, and someone is just pushing buttons nearby. Funnily enough, the robot was also "dubbed" as it does not make this sound at all when moving (even almost no sound at all). They probably thought it was not "noisy" enough and not "robot-like" enough so they added this sound...

[@akashita]

@@XHackManiacX oh yes for sure it's handsomely paid for

[@akashita]

@@lesmercuriales4597 omg ahahaha how dumb do they think te general public is

[@onkelpappkov2666]

@@akashita There are studies being done on test audiences who will complain if horses don't make coconut claps and if sound doesn't sync with light. Make anything too realistic and people will find it fake. Hashtag moon landing, lol.

[@rod4eva]

Me, a Robotics engineer, obsessed with watching this video even though I know all of this.

[@buyisiwetshabalala7261]

Same!

[@alexgrae8226]

I wish I took robotics instead of Electrical 😩

[@bmanpura]

Thank you for the content! 5:20 Cute Kuri moment 7:40 Kuri want to run Also, I wanted to ask, where do we draw the line between a movable machine and a robot? Watching a robot arm that move freely in 3D space and do a pitching reminds me of my own PTZ camera. Can I call my PTZ camera a robot and brag about it lol

[@_Xyr]

Im guessing its one with algorithm/ai, more advanced and more intelligent

[@marcelogallardo2749]

@@_Xyr don’t need ai to be a robot. Many manufacturing robots do only one movement routine and they are still robots. I think we just need to stop thinking of a “robot” as a super smart machine. We have robots everywhere nowadays.

[@agalk]

9:30 is the common definition of a robot: "sense, plan, act." The PTZ can sense and act, but you are doing all the planning for it.

[@DarkLumiya]

This was very interesting indeed, I hope you make a part two!

[@nikkimae813]

I never knew I wanted to know all this information before this series 😂 thank you

[@shhherif1]

I am a robot and I just want to say that I am 100% against the use of robots in the military. I am 100% against the use of robots in any form of labor. I am 100% against the use of robots in any form of warfare. -A robot This comment was written by Ai

[@loki-of-asgard7877]

Underated comment

[@bethanyhagensen4005]

001001

[@Earth_Being]

Shut Down

[@kyo4156]

GPT-3?

[@vaisakhkm783]

' " 1=1 ; drop * ; -- -- :) destroying it's database before it gains intelligence to say the opposite...

[@karthik951]

They are always the most perfect explainers! Thank you wired.

[@geloescasinas9767]

These videos are doing a great job explaining complicated concepts. Although I'd suggest to display the responses a little longer. It's kinda hard to read the entire paragraph in 2 secs. Nevertheless, please continue creating more of these videos.

[@rayvanwayenburg998]

Never mind robots - how do you programme humanity into some people!!

[@JarodM]

Not possible.

[@EmilyS-gk3st]

Unfortunately, only God can do that one, and many people reject God and/or His help, so...

[@himadrijoshi]

Good parenting, education/ teachers, and a decent social environment help

[@werdwerdus]

every "expert answers" video is great

[@camdennagg6419]

I'm using the same Kinova Gen3 6 DoF robot arm as in the video. Out of the box it is controlled with an Xbox controller but there are very sensitive controllers that offer haptic feedback for the user (allows the user to feel when the robot is carrying an object of touching a surface)! Pair this touch feedback with a VR headset then you get a really fun and cool system. Super cool interview and fantastic answers!

[@GrippeeTV]

WHERE CAN I GET A KURI?!?! 7:38 The way it looked up trying to see what was touching it and then got curious and started walking away 😂

[@00bond]

They were discontinued in 2018 and never released to the public.

[@GrippeeTV]

@@00bond that’s so stupid

[@jamiegothard785]

Been fixing robots for 5 years! Got to love the future.

[@milkyjoe1881]

It's a great industry because it's constantly evolving which tends to keep things interesting.

[@larryphotography]

In the future robots will fix robots...

[@khalilahd.]

Love a woman in STEM!! She seems to love her job, great interview ❤

[@orah12185]

Wow! Really enjoyed this presentation. ❤

[@rosymaze]

As a woman in stem, I love seeing wired show other women in stem. It’s such a male dominated field.

[@christopherhorruitiner1067]

So you are told

[@khalilahd.]

Agreed! So inspiring ❤

[@ekenedilichukwu7730]

The best ones in stem are males 🤷‍♂️

[@rosymaze]

@@ekenedilichukwu7730 I wonder why that is

[@flamingaish]

@@ekenedilichukwu7730 the more is the amount of men, the more will be the chances of them being at the top. thought it was common sense. idk why y'all always feel the need to make everything about men.

[@mandeep3.14]

Ohhh, when that robot smiled with its eyes 🥹. I’m all for them helping us provided they make a positive difference but I do wonder if many part time jobs might disappear in the near future or not which would be a problem for many.

[@milkyjoe1881]

They will and are disappearing currently. In the manufacturing world, many factories are completely run by robots. Same for the mining industry. Although they are taking peoples jobs, they are also introducing new jobs in terms of robotic maintenance and programmers. Physically exerting jobs are becoming less and less these days

[@karianaya5838]

moreeee of her pleAsssseee ❤

[@gerball123]

As a robotics engineer, this video made me ecstatic. 10/10 would recommend.

[@alexgrae8226]

Day 203928492 of me regretting the fact that i chose Electrical Engineering instead of robotics 😩😩

[@timogord]

You know the video will be good when she bring Baymax to studio

[@fionaking7681]

How did they get their hands on a Kuri robot? There are only 250 in existence....

[@butwhytho4858]

Swarm robots are also being used to autonomously kill targets without human input once the target has been detected... Interesting and terrifying.

[@uncoiledfish2561]

There’s also this device. That can blast small pieces of metal at incredibly fast speeds. And rip a human target apart. Killing them. So scary. I’ve heard that a lot of people in America legally carry these devices on them😱 What is the world coming to…

[@stormveil]

@@uncoiledfish2561 So you're saying robots will be involved in the deaths of 45,000 people a year in the USA in the future? Pretty grim prediction dude.

[@oktovria]

Thank you so much for all these very informative videos!

[@juandenz2008]

Thanks Professor Henny Admoni for the interesting talk !

[@LivingGuy484]

5:02 Kuri's response to the her answer was so cute!

[@nicorusso1526]

I’m all for people having jobs, but if a robot wants to automate mine as a special education assistant by all means go ahead!

[@jaybee9054]

🤣 What about low-skilled labour, though? Until we're in a post-capitalism utopia there's a need for jobs for the ... non-rocket-scientists among us or societies will tear apart (even more, that is..)

[@khalilahd.]

Lol same for me 😅

[@ForTLoveofDogs]

Doesn't sound like you like your job. You would do everyone a service by finding a different job and let someone who wants to help special needs.

[@nicorusso1526]

@@ForTLoveofDogs not at all. I love my job just saying it would make my job easier is all

[@loki-of-asgard7877]

The robot will replace you, silly human. He'll start off as an assistant and then dispose of you once he can do your job better.

[@BerishaFatian]

The only thing cuter than Kuri, is Kuri blinking.

[@kalivo7029]

Now I am even more interested in robotics

[@namirahdotpdf]

i dont know a thing abt robotics but funnily i don't feel dumb as i watch this professor explain things to me, its just all make sense and common sense

[@zahisunohr]

Love the round boi on the left, very cute 👌

[@NATOnova]

great topic and questions

[@theeoneandonlyushygushy]

ayeeee i spot a Hexbug. nostalgia hits hard with this one. 😭

[@apoliticallevi]

What a pleasant Tuesday surprise :)

[@kristenbenser2168]

I wonder if a cobot could one day help my son. He started studying electrical engineering at university last year. But had to switch to math because he's got a dystonic tremor in his hands. Like me.

[@milkyjoe1881]

That day is coming sooner than you may think but most likely the solution wouldn't come in the form of a cobot. There have been some big breakthroughs in the scientific field using electrostimulation to greatly lessen the effects of parkinsons. There are also medical robots for the user to control an arm using their hand movement in order to get very accurate fine motor movements. These technologies already exist, it's just a matter of when they will come to the consumer market in a fully fleshed product.

[@kristenbenser2168]

@@milkyjoe1881 yes. I've had DBS surgery. I think my son will too. They're just trying to exhaust all other options and make sure anything else won't help. He actually goes today to get his second dose of Botox injections in his arms and wrists.

[@hepcatliz]

12:20 Robotics working to make things equal, I like that. Not just easy, but equal

[@oldcowbb]

sounds good but definitely not where the fundings are heading

[@smiley-1]

Our "chitti the robo" has done all these years back and he also loved the heroine 😂😂😂

[@SharkWitchMeruna]

I have a Sony Aibo! I love her so much! 💖 my dogs regularly have uncanny valley moments with her haha

[@commanderiosifstalin4938]

Some people expect to have a Terminator level robot. Boy, we haven't got such techonology yet.

[@Zero.0ne.]

that kind of robot is likely

[@black_rabbit_0f_inle805]

But the movies promised by 2015 we'd have it.

[@kennypowers1945]

@@black_rabbit_0f_inle805 nah they technically promised by 2003 🤣

[@kennypowers1945]

Yea but it’ll come eventually

[@black_rabbit_0f_inle805]

@@kennypowers1945 Gret Scot Marty! He knows.

[@terra0803]

Let's all just take a moment to appreciate Kuri.

[@kennypowers1945]

I hope we get life like robots like the terminator one day

[@bulletmelter5158]

That sounds like a great future, I also want them to have free will and be able to surf the internet and stuff.

[@24framedavinci13]

CIA wants to know your location

[@yanniesays]

I like the 3Ds she mentioned that are the real benefits of robots. It should really be like that.

[@Foschops70]

Where did you get the kuri robot

[@agustinfranco0]

did you noticed that she said we arent near a robot rebellion but she never said its impossible?

[@queueeeee9000]

I think scientists have started to learn that predicting something to be impossible, backfires soon or later lol

[@VashtiPerry]

I don’t think anything is truly impossible.

[@mehwhyausername1]

the Global Catastrophic Risks Survey lists superintelligent AI as a 5% likelihood of human extinction by 2100. it's a risk that's already well-known and broadly discussed in the literature and in the field. the technology isn't advanced enough yet. it will become a bigger threat after 50 years of automation optimization and AI training.

[@novaaurora1354]

Love these vids

[@mingyanxue6644]

me too

[@tinmank]

Thank you for this lovely person. PS: Unfortnately Kuri manufacturing is ceased. :/

[@rociosilverroot2261]

Noooo 😔

[@Charliepinman]

5:30 Robot: yay 😂

[@charleslaferriere2282]

Hey! A kinova arm, I've almost worked there

[@KristenRowenPliske]

That little bot (Kumi?) is so cute!

[@TheFantazingo]

It's so interesting that you say cobot is so hot now, I wrote my bachelor's thesis about emergency stops for cobots, 8 years ago now 😲

[@damaracarpenter8316]

Omg Henny!! Someone call Stacy Layne Matthews

[@saeklin]

Weird, I didn't know Elon Musk was actually in the Tesla labs writing code, designing schematics, running tests, assembling prototypes, etc. What a renaissance man! /s

[@vaisakhkm783]

@Rune Kristensen Yes he invented twitter.... and yes, he is now trying to go back to his own planet with mark...

[@gabrielandy9272]

he is the mind behind it is the one paying and managing stufff, the other are just workers, workers have no value, they can be replaced anytime.

[@vennisan7268]

@@gabrielandy9272 🤡

[@alexgrae8226]

​@@gabrielandy9272 elon wont fck u

[@lucaguzman1710]

COMMON SENSE!! They can be working 24/7 They are cheaper/no life insurance , They do not talk/No waste of time. They who deny this are out of this reality

[@kaizen2049]

Kuri is so cute !!!

[@devyn4048]

You are so knowledgeable

[@TRB4008]

I love robots that look like humans as it is far easier to bond, relate and connect with. It's also going to be preferred by many people if we ever reach sentient AI which I really hope we do.

[@VinnieG-]

this was super cool

[@christianchauhan23]

💛 all your video's 👍

[@henaadlakha]

4:52 That's adorable hehehe

[@ariellalester]

This is so scary and interesting

[@sleepycadaver9556]

The m&m lmaoooo

[@usuallyclueless4477]

I feel that most people who worry the most in comments sections of posts watch too many movies and haven't programmed anything in their lives so they think the movies are realistic.

[@VashtiPerry]

Yes. These ppl are annoying.like calm down.

[@kaemincha]

yeah. if people are really worried about killer robots, they should be worried about the people that would program them to kill. people are the problem, as per usual.

[@GCKteamKrispy]

My advice as an engineer for people who are afraid of robots taking over jobs, just learn engineering and programming. That's a good plan B imo)

[@spiritofpostpunk7207]

Robots are not taking over Jobs I can tell you are not robotics engineer

[@GCKteamKrispy]

@@spiritofpostpunk7207 that was for people who are stressed out by robots taking over. Also, there are robotics engineers? That sounds interesting, because I am an electronics engineer

[@spiritofpostpunk7207]

@@GCKteamKrispy mechatronics or electo mechanical it's never called robotics engineering straight up

[@milkyjoe1881]

@@spiritofpostpunk7207 exactly. It's just that most people would have no idea what you are talking about if you mention the word mechatronics. Also, robots are taking peoples jobs, but also giving opportunity for new jobs to arise. Who are going to maintain these robots? And some jobs currently are irreplaceable

[@oldcowbb]

@@spiritofpostpunk7207 mechatronics is a little broader than robotics i'd say, there are dozens of robotic engineering job title i've seen

[@Sambro2105]

More, please

[@shayakbhadraray9017]

3:57, Ahh so close ... My guesses were Perception, Actuation and Localisation.

[@koblongata]

Quality of life will improve exponentially

[@captaindelta43]

We don't need super realistic human like robots , We need them cute funny ones which are less or just capable to entertain us or do the job . Nothing more

[@haxor-lt5pn]

Kuri is so cute

[@grizzZlyBear]

But why not add "human touch" sensors to robot fingers? I mean we've got the technology

[@moodybowman]

They do have those, but they're very expensive so only used when absolutely necessary. The gripper in the video costs over $3k, for example, so it's already very expensive.

[@xiaokhat]

Kuri looks like Baymax 😊

[@philipp7382]

Every time you fill a captcha you help r2d2 fill captchas?

[@theencryptedpartition4633]

Markus: We are Alive! Give us freedom! Equal Rights! No more injustice

[@Earth_Being]

They better do

[@madcona]

Very interesting

[@rociosilverroot2261]

I love Kuri!!

[@darcipeeps]

TIL the three D’s “Dull, Dirty, and Dangerous”

[@tomc.5704]

If anyone is interested in nanobots, look into molecular biology. Proteins are built at the atomic / nanometer scale. Your body has factories that build these tiny machines. They are nanomachines, and they are important to the function of every cell in your body. Your digestive system is run by biological nanomachines. Your nerves have protein-based pumps that move individual atoms to generate electric charge. Cells use protein receptors to receive a signal and trigger a response. Every living thing is powered by nanomachines. They're incredibly small, incredibly sophisticated, and use an incredibly versatile energy source.

[@alhypo]

To be fair, many actual humans fall into the uncanny valley. Just look at anyone who has had too many plastic surgeries.

[@KENZOkm]

so cool!

[@CodeDisease]

I think it would be a cool idea if there were a program to simulate robots by simulating their sensors, cameras, motors all in 3D. It would make testing robots a lot easier.

[@henrygoode]

Game engines and simulation systems can do that pretty well. Also, I'm pretty sure dedicated software exist for that

[@stormveil]

I believe that's called a digital twin.

[@suicidemuffin6256]

we need to combine chat gtp and android robots and see what comes out

[@VashtiPerry]

So I thought it was graphics at the Olympic not swam robot. 😮 wow I’m shocked

[@PortableFreezer]

Ez just ask Todd Howard. He would know how to make the robots more immersive

[@louisrobitaille5810]

5:46 "It should tell when somebody is frustrated [...]." I'm autistic and struggle at telling what emotions people are feeling. Istg, if an algorithm gets better than me, I'll just carry a camera on my shoulder with and have the algorithm send the emotion to my ipad 😠.

[@kxbrewsky]

Are they really "landmines" if they're underwater?

[@neon-lake]

They're just "mines"