Mark Tilden on “What would you research if you did not have to worry about grants?”

Well, I’m lucky enough to be a gentleman scientist, so I concurrently study problems on minimal dynamical control systems (optimizing performance to silicon ratios), power regeneration and efficiency, alien robot morphologies (weird bodies outside the conventional biomimetic), sensor design, situational awareness and integration, motor and mechanical operational extension, locomotion and loading, and anything else that allows for useful, clean, interesting, semi-perpetual automatons.

Y’know, the basics.  Bringing good things to life.  Moo Ha ha.

So robotics research is excellent for those with ADHD – the field’s problem and feature is it’s not just anything, it’s everything that’s techno fun. However every now and again there’s something that skitters, flops, pronks, spins, walks, tumbles, or bounces across the desk that could really use … a brain.

So the short answer is I’d put (other people’s) money into researching affordable competent minds that could help organize any mechanical body, sensor or environment they are given.  Small, quick, cheap, and with a voice interface so I can encourage it to effectiveness without a million keystrokes.  Power on and it asks “Hello, what is my name?”

Yes, that’d be handy.  Do they have an App for that yet?

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Mark Tilden is a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.

Mark Tilden is a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.