Like the products it produces, the robotics industry just doesn’t stand still!
We find robots in hospitals (rolling along, leading you to the right department – or actually performing surgery in the operating room!), in warehouses and factories (producing and tracking products and transporting them), in the sky (drones for security, delivery, photography, agriculture), and more. And naturally, the money follows this ubiquity as investors look to grab a piece of an industry taking such a central part in our lives.
While it’s hard for most of us to keep on top of what’s around the corner, these guys do. And our team loves to tune in to some of the most popular podcasts to expand their knowledge, both technical and about the industry at large. So we’ve done the work for you subscribe to the top robotics podcasts for your morning commute or workout, and start the day smarter! Here’s our list of today’s best robotics podcasts:
1. Robohub
Way back in 2006, Dr. Dario Floreano, a Swiss intelligent systems professor, started his robotics podcast to highlight the cutting-edge developments you wouldn’t necessarily know about – interviewers and interviewees are no-nonsense academics, entrepreneurs, engineers, with a few policymakers and VCs in the mix. Ranging from 10 minutes to an hour, every other week a new podcast episode arrives — some more “accessible” and some clearly intended only for the most hard-core.
2. Sense Think Act
How long can you discuss solar-powered weeding robot for vegetable gardens? You’d be surprised … and intrigued! Begun only about a year ago (August 2021) and hosted by Audrow Nash, this long-form (over an hour) podcast offers deep-dive, broad discussions for a more general audience; terminology is explained often, and the geek talk comes only in short spurts. Ideal for people looking to hear about specific companies for investment or to understand the real-world impact of latest developments. And for those who prefer to see the speakers, each has a YouTube-based video version with full transcripts on the site.
3. ROS Developers
Hosted by the team from the Construct — a robotics education organization offering workshops, master classes, summer school courses, and more — comes a very practical series of over 100 podcasts, featuring interviews with robotics programming experts. Especially valuable for beginners looking to master techniques or programming paradigms, there’s also a healthy dose of startup discussion – the ins and outs of making your dream a reality. If you wake up each day ready to take on debugging, toolsets and ROS2, this is the podcast for you.
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4. Soft Robotics Podcast
As the name implies, this podcast is the least technical of the list. Marwa ElDiwiny, an academic researcher from Brussels, created it to try to get answers on the questions she always had as she worked in the lab. Sure, she interviews fellow engineers and scientists, but she gets fascinating perspectives from laypeople – philosophers, writers, and even kids. It’s also the least consistent – many clips are as short as two minutes, literally address a quick question, while others get deeper into the discussion. There also aren’t consistent descriptions to help you choose, so think of it as a wonderful intellectual adventure that promises to surprise you each time you click “Play.”
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5. Crazy Hard Robotics
This podcast is so fabulous because, on the one hand, you hear interviews with insanely bright CEOs of companies who are really, really pushing the envelope on cutting-edge stuff. But these aren’t shameless promotions of their products or companies; they often barely discuss them at all. Each one is simply delighted to let you in on the challenges, the dilemmas, the processes, the successes, and failures that have much broader impact than their particular business cases or product development. In short, these industry leaders are creating robotic solutions to big problems, and the discussion is fascinating.
6. Robot Talk
This “big picture” monthly podcast is hosted by Dr. Claire Asher, who interviews UK scientists who discuss topics like rescue robots, drones, autonomous cars, robots, and manufacturing, as well as more “meta” concepts like taking robots out of controlled environments and into the wild, or evolution and adaptation in robotics designed to mimic biological processes. Most are between a half hour and an hour, and listening to the vision and accomplishments of some of these experts, the time flies by.
7. The Robot State Reports
Unlike most of the others on this list, The Robot State Reports presents discussions as a platform for Silicon Valley leaders to offer both general perspectives and insight into their own press.
8. The Robot Industry Podcast
We’ll finish the list with one you simply can’t miss. Jim Beretta, the host, is a jack of all trades in robotics – he’s dealt with marketing and search, capital equipment, application and robotics engineering, and more. It’s always nice when the host is a really smart guy, because he knows the questions to ask and how to follow up with no-nonsense, focused questions and observations. In partnership with A3, Robotics Industry Association, and PaintedRobot.com. They cover the gamut: trends, innovation, and really out-there tech being developed for advanced manufacturing.
