Build first, theorize later: the maker culture behind great robots
Marc Raibert hires makers, Neil Gershenfeld describes discovery as ready, fire, aim, Simone Giertz starts projects that should have been too hard, and Robert Playter turned lab lessons into company values. Their shared habit of building early and learning from the result is a usable model for anyone doing hard technical work.
What working habit do these four builders share? Show answer
They get something physical running early, watch closely what it does, and let that decide what to do next.
Why did Marc Raibert start with a pogo-stick robot? Show answer
It was the simplest machine that still contained the core problem of balance, which later extended to other legged robots.
What four qualities does Raibert want in an engineering team? Show answer
Technical fearlessness, diligence, intrepidness in the face of failure, and enjoyment of building.
How many tries did one Atlas video take, and what did the team do with them? Show answer
109 tries over about six weeks. The company filmed every one, from collapses to hardware failures.
What does Neil Gershenfeld mean by ready, fire, aim? Show answer
Do a lot of work to get ready, try something without thinking too hard about the target, then look very carefully at where it landed.
Why does Gershenfeld prefer aiming after firing? Show answer
If you aim first, the best you can hope for is to hit what you aimed at. Aiming afterward allows results better than the target.
What example shows Gershenfeld's failures turning useful? Show answer
An anti-shoplifting tag that failed led to early quantum computations. Bubbles that ruined an experiment became a way to compute.
How did Simone Giertz get past perfectionism? Show answer
She built deliberately bad robots. Aiming for funny instead of great kept perfectionism from stopping her from starting.
What did Giertz learn when she turned a build into a product? Show answer
Making one of something and making thousands are different jobs, and everything takes much longer than expected.
What three lessons did Robert Playter take from Raibert? Show answer
Have the courage to do what interests you, simplify the problem, and accept that it is good to break things.
What did the missed door handle teach Playter's team? Show answer
The robot threw itself over because it expected resistance. The first time you push on the world, you forget that it pushes back.
When does building first apply less? Show answer
As the cost of failure rises, as with manufacturing thousands of units, road vehicles or a few shared expensive machines.