The Reality of Physical AI w/ Hiten Sonpal

Physical AI gets a lot more serious when a bad answer can move thousands of pounds of machinery. In Episode 25 of System Prompt, Peter and Val sit down with Hiten Sonpal, CEO of RISE Robotics and a robotics veteran whose career spans iRobot, defense robotics, autonomous lawn care, Electric Sheep, and heavy industrial machinery.

The conversation gets into what changes when probabilistic AI meets deterministic machines, why safety envelopes matter, and why Hiten believes the future of robotics is more likely to be specialized machines that amplify people than general-purpose humanoid replacements.

Hiten also breaks down RISE Robotics’ Beltdraulic technology, the SuperJammer robotic arm that lifted more than 7,000 pounds, where AI is actually useful in engineering today, and why impressive technology still does not become a business until customers want it and will pay for it.

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