Podcast: first-half 2020 highlights; space robotics expert Chris Thayer

The Robot Report Podcast recaps the top stories of the year thus far, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Welcome to episode 5 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Join us every Wednesday for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community.

Listeners can subscribe to The Robot Report Podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, Google Play and YouTube. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave us a review!

This week Gene and I recap the top stories of the first half of 2020. The stories we discuss, which you can find in the podcast links at the bottom of the page, include the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the robotics industry, Amazon acquiring autonomous vehicle company Zoox, Boston Dynamics commercializing its Spot quadruped, and how former coal miners have been re-trained to become mobile robot technicians.

We also talk with Chris Thayer, who is the President and CEO at Motiv Space Systems, a California-based company developing ground- and space-based robotics systems. Chris was also VP and GM of leading space robotics company MDA for nearly nine years. We talk to Chris about the evolution of space robots, the technical challenges of building and testing such systems, and how Motiv is working to lower the cost of space robots. We also get his thoughts on the recent SpaceX launch.

If you would like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the podcast, or if you have recommendations for future guests or segment ideas, contact Steve or Eugene. For sponsorship opportunities of The Robot Report Podcast, contact Jami Brownlee for more information.