Talking Robots: Henrik Lund - Playware and Edutainment

In this episode of Talking Robots, Sabine Howard interviews Henrik Lund about his work on Playware and educational robots. Lund discusses intelligent playgrounds made of modular robotic tiles that encourage physical activity in children through games like Bug Smasher and Pong, which adapt to individual users using neural networks. He explains Playware as intelligent hardware and software designed to create playful experiences for all ages, including robotic therapy tiles for cardiac patients and modular robotics for children with autism and elderly with dementia. Lund also details the iBlocks project in Africa, aimed at empowering people to become technology developers, and his company, Entertainment Robotics, which focuses on bringing playful elements to various markets like fitness, sports, and music. He emphasizes the importance of embodied AI, modular robotics, and understanding human-robot interaction for future research, as well as the potential of soft materials in robotics.