Hod Lipson works at the intersection of engineering and biology, studying robots and the way they "behave" and evolve. His work has exciting implications for design and manufacturing -- and serves as a window to understand our own behavior and evolution.
Why you should listen to him:
To say that Hod Lipson and his team at Cornell build robots is not completely accurate: They may simply set out a pile of virtual robot parts, devise some rules for assembly, and see what the parts build themselves into. They've created robots that decide for themselves how they want to walk; robots that develop a sense of what they look like; even robots that can, through trial and error, construct other robots just like themselves.
Working across disciplines -- physics, computer science, math, biology and several flavors of engineer -- the team studies techniques for self-assembly and evolution that have great implications for fields such as micro-manufacturing -- allowing tiny pieces to assemble themselves at scales heretofore impossible -- and extreme custom manufacturing (in other words, 3-D printers for the home).
His lab's Outreach page is a funhouse of tools and instructions, including the amazing Golem@Home -- a self-assembling virtual robot who lives in your screensaver.
Blog Posts on TED
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Robots that are "self-aware": Hod Lipson on TED.com – October 11, 2007
Engineer Hod Lipson demonstrates and talks about a few of his cool little robots, which have the ability to learn, understand themselves and even self-replicate. At the root of this uncanny demo is a deep inquiry into the nature of how living beings learn and evolve, and how we might harness these processes to make things that learn and evolve. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 06:29.)
Watch Hod Lipson's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.
Read more about Hod Lipson on TED.com.
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PopMech's 2007 Breakthrough Awards – October 17, 2007
Some familiar TED faces and themes turn up in Popular Mechanics' 2007 Breakthrough Awards, published in the magazine's November issue. Jeff Han's multitouch wall (watch his 2006 TEDTalk) and Hod Lipson's print-anything printer (related to his work on robots) are named as two of the awards' "8 Bold Ideas" for 2007. If you were moved and inspired by Amy Smith's TEDTalk on her developing-world technologies, check out PopMech's profile of the like-minded Ashok Gadgil and Christina Galitsky and the cookstove they developed for use in Darfur, or 2006 winner Jock Brandis and his portable peanut sheller. If Dean Kamen's robotic prosthetic arm TEDTalk interested you, dive into the video report on Johns Hopkins' project. It's a fascinating, well-reported awards package. More
