Welcome to Episode 2 of The Robot Report Podcast. Join Steve Crowe and Eugene Demaitre every Wednesday for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community.

Eugene and Steve this week talk with Paolo Pirjanian, Founder and CEO of Embodied, which is developing the Moxie companion robot that is designed to help the cognitive development of children. Paolo is well regarded in robotics circles. One of his previous companies, Evolution Robotics, was acquired by iRobot in 2012 for $74 million.

He joined iRobot as Chief Technology Officer, but left after three years to pursue the idea of using robotics to help people. He launched Embodied in 2017, and Moxie is now available for pre-order. Paolo has referred to developing companion robots as a “moonshot.” He joined the podcast to talk about the technical and business challenges involved, including creating seamless human-robot interaction for children, content creation for Moxie, and raising funding after several social robotics companies failed. Paolo also discusses launching Moxie during the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision to not give Moxie wheels, and much more.

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