#241 – Boris Sofman: Waymo, Cozmo, Self-Driving Cars, and the Future of Robotics

About this episode

<p>Boris Sofman is the Senior Director Of Engineering and Head of Trucking at Waymo, formerly the Google Self-Driving Car project. He was also the CEO and co-founder of Anki, a home robotics company. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:<br /> &#8211; <b>LMNT</b>: <a href="https://drinkLMNT.com/lex">https://drinkLMNT.com/lex</a> to get free sample pack<br /> &#8211; <b>Athletic Greens</b>: <a href="https://athleticgreens.com/lex">https://athleticgreens.com/lex</a> and use code LEX to get 1 month of fish oil<br /> &#8211; <b>ROKA</b>: <a href="https://roka.com/">https://roka.com/</a> and use code LEX to get 20% off your first order<br /> &#8211; <b>Indeed</b>: <a href="https://indeed.com/lex">https://indeed.com/lex</a> to get $75 credit<br /> &#8211; <b>BetterHelp</b>: <a href="https://betterhelp.com/lex">https://betterhelp.com/lex</a> to get 10% off</p> <p><b>EPISODE LINKS:</b><br /> Boris&#8217;s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/bsofman">https://twitter.com/bsofman</a><br /> Boris&#8217;s LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsofman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsofman</a><br /> Waymo&#8217;s Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/waymo">https://twitter.com/waymo</a><br /> Waymo&#8217;s YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/waymo">https://www.youtube.com/waymo</a><br /> Waymo&#8217;s Website: <a href="https://waymo.com/">https://waymo.com/</a></p> <p><b>PODCAST INFO:</b><br /> Podcast website: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/podcast">https://lexfridman.com/podcast</a><br /> Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/2lwqZIr">https://apple.co/2lwqZIr</a><br /> Spotify: <a href="https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8">https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8</a><br /> RSS: <a href="https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/">https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/</a><br /> YouTube Full Episodes: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexfridman">https://youtube.com/lexfridman</a><br /> YouTube Clips: <a href="https://youtube.com/lexclips">https://youtube.com/lexclips</a></p> <p><b>SUPPORT &#38; CONNECT:</b><br /> &#8211; Check out the sponsors above, it&#8217;s the best way to support this podcast<br /> &#8211; Support on Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman">https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lexfridman">https://twitter.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman">https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman">https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman</a><br /> &#8211; Medium: <a href="https://medium.com/@lexfridman">https://medium.com/@lexfridman</a></p> <p><b>OUTLINE:</b><br /> Here&#8217;s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.<br /> (00:00) &#8211; Introduction<br /> (07:32) &#8211; Robots in science fiction<br /> (13:13) &#8211; Cozmo<br /> (38:28) &#8211; AI companions<br /> (45:23) &#8211; Anki<br /> (1:10:56) &#8211; Waymo Via<br /> (1:42:34) &#8211; Sensor suites for long haul trucking<br /> (1:52:30) &#8211; Machine learning<br /> (2:10:26) &#8211; Waymo vs Tesla<br /> (2:21:02) &#8211; Safety and risk management<br /> (2:30:06) &#8211; Societal effects of automation<br /> (2:41:11) &#8211; Amazon Astro<br /> (2:45:35) &#8211; Challenges of the robotics industry<br /> (2:50:03) &#8211; Humanoid robotics<br /> (2:57:06) &#8211; Advice for getting a PhD in robotics<br /> (3:04:37) &#8211; Advice for robotics startups<br /> (3:15:43) &#8211; Advice for students</p>