Q&A with Peter Barrett about Robotics
I think the first two questions are fantastic and on the nose. Peter Barrett is a Palo Alto Venture Capital investor.
TC: What was the biggest robotics story of 2022?
PB: The Great Autonomous Vehicle Capitulation. Ford and VW abandoning robotaxis are another indication that autonomous vehicles are decades from ubiquity. Autonomous vehicles may be inevitable, but they are certainly not imminent despite lots of very clever people and eye-watering amounts of capital pouring into the domain.
We have had autonomous vehicles driven by neural networks since the ’80s. I think we are about halfway there.
The good news is that in the interim, we do have a mature technology that improves traffic 30% and reduces fatalities at intersections by 90%. It is called a roundabout.
What are your biggest robotics predictions for 2023?
The biggest trend in 2023 will be the realization that robots are best used to amplify people rather than replacing them. Robots as collaborators that work for people in human environments is the best way of exploiting the unique capabilities of both.
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