Let's get physical

Do you need a body to have intelligence? And can one exist without the other? Hannah takes listeners behind the scenes of DeepMind's robotics lab in London where she meets robots that are trying to independently learn new skills, and explores why physical intelligence is a necessary part of intelligence. Along the way, she finds out how researchers trained their robots at home during lockdown, uncovers why so many robotics demonstrations are faking it, and what it takes to train a robotic football team.

For questions or feedback on the series, message us on Twitter @DeepMind or email podcast@deepmind.com.

Interviewees: DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell, Viorica Patraucean, Jan Humplik, Akhil Raju & Doina Precup

Credits

Presenter: Hannah Fry

Series Producer: Dan Hardoon

Production support: Jill Achineku

Sounds design: Emma Barnaby

Music composition: Eleni Shaw

Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton

Editor: David Prest

Commissioned by DeepMind

Thank you to everyone who made this season possible!

Further reading:

Stacking our way to more general robots, DeepMind: https://deepmind.com/blog/article/stacking-our-way-to-more-general-robots

Researchers Propose Physical AI As Key To Lifelike Robots, Forbes: ​​https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonchandler/2020/11/11/researchers-propose-physical-ai-as-key-to-lifelike-robots/

The robots going where no human can, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-41584738

The Robot Assault On Fukushima, WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/fukushima-robot-cleanup/

Leaps, Bounds, and Backflips, Boston Dynamics: http://blog.bostondynamics.com/atlas-leaps-bounds-and-backflips

Now DeepMind is using AI to transform football, WIRED:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/deepmind-football-liverpool-ai