Boris Sofman: Waymo, Cozmo, Self-Driving Cars, and the Future of Robotics | Lex Fridman Podcast #241

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

November 16, 2021

Duration

3h 14m

Channel

Lex Fridman Podcast

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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:

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EPISODE LINKS: Boris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/bsofman Boris's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsofman Waymo's Twitter: https://twitter.com/waymo Waymo's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/waymo Waymo's Website: https://waymo.com/ PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 1:08 - Robots in science fiction 6:49 - Cozmo 32:04 - AI companions 38:59 - Anki 1:04:33 - Waymo Via 1:36:10 - Sensor suites for long haul trucking 1:46:06 - Machine learning 2:04:03 - Waymo vs Tesla 2:14:38 - Safety and risk management 2:23:42 - Societal effects of automation 2:34:47 - Amazon Astro 2:39:12 - Challenges of the robotics industry 2:43:39 - Humanoid robotics 2:50:42 - Advice for getting a PhD in robotics 2:58:13 - Advice for robotics startups 3:09:19 - Advice for students SOCIAL:

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🎤 SPEAKERS

• Lex Fridman

  host

• Boris Sofman

  guest

• Narrator

  other

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Boris Sofman, Boris Sofman: Waymo, Cozmo, Self-Driving Cars, and the Future of Robotics | Lex Fridman Podcast #241 explores from Cozmo To Trucks: Designing Robots People Love And Trust Boris Sofman traces his journey from co-founding Anki and creating the emotionally rich toy robot Cozmo to leading autonomous trucking engineering at Waymo. He explains how Cozmo’s success came from embracing non‑humanoid design, tight cost constraints, and Pixar‑style character development to create real emotional connection in a forgiving, fun domain. Shifting to Waymo, he details the technical, safety, and organizational challenges of Level 4 autonomy, especially for long‑haul trucks, and how simulation, multi‑sensor perception, and a rigorous safety framework underpin deployment. Throughout, he reflects on why robotics startups are so hard, how markets and timing matter as much as technology, and what widespread autonomy and home robots might mean for society, jobs, and daily life.

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