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In this episode of the Energy Desk, host Alex Melvin discusses the state of the art in robotics with Peter Corke, a leading Australian robotics pioneer. Peter shares his experiences from the 1980s to the present, touching on the evolution of robot technology from industrial applications to modern innovations like humanoid robots and drones. They explore how robotics has transformed industries such as manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. The conversation also delves into the future potential of humanoid robots in tasks ranging from home care to complex field operations, and the energy demands and sustainability implications of these advancements. Peter offers insights into the current landscape and challenges of deploying self-driving vehicles and humanoid robots, highlighting emerging trends in AI and robotics applications.
Peter is a robotics practitioner, researcher and educator. He is currently Chief Roboticist of LYRO Robotics and technical advisor to emesent. His career has been concerned with enabling robots to see, in particular robotic hand-eye coordination and the application of robots for mining, agriculture, construction, and environmental monitoring. He is a distinguished professor emeritus at Queensland University of Technology where he established one of the largest robotics research and teaching groups in Australia. He created widely used open-source software for teaching and research in MATLAB and Python; wrote the best selling textbook “Robotics, Vision, and Control”, now in its third edition; created several online courses and the Robot Academy; and has won national and international recognition for teaching, including 2017 Australian University Teacher of the Year. He directed the QUT Centre for Robotics (2020-23); was founding director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Robotic Vision (2014-20), and founding director of CSIRO’s Autonomous Systems Lab (2004-09). He is a fellow of the IEEE, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the Australian Academy of Science; advisory board member for IEEE Trans. Robotics Practice and IEEE Trans. Field Robotics; former editor-in-chief of the IEEE Robotics & Automation magazine; founding editor of the Journal of Field Robotics; founding multi-media editor of the International Journal of Robotics Research; recipient of the Qantas/Rolls-Royce and Australian Engineering Excellence awards; and has held visiting positions at Oxford, University of Illinois, Carnegie-Mellon University, and University of Pennsylvania. He received his undergraduate and masters degrees in electrical engineering and PhD from the University of Melbourne.
You can find Peter through this website or on LinkedIn.
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:01 Peter Cork's Early Career in Robotics
03:55 Evolution of Industrial Robots
05:43 Energy Consumption in Robotics
08:57 Field Robotics and Mining Applications
15:38 Humanoid Robots and Their Applications
20:42 Current Trends in Robotics
23:22 The Fascination with Humanoid Robots
24:30 The Role of Robots in Modern Manufacturing
26:11 Challenges in Robot Dexterity and AI
27:09 Humanoid Robots in Logistics and Delivery
28:54 The Reality Behind Robot Demonstrations
32:19 Energy Consumption and Efficiency of Robots
37:01 Innovative Applications of Drones
38:27 Robotics in Agriculture
42:40 Conclusion and Future Prospects
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