7: Conor McGinn - Robotics Expert

In the same week that the first photographs of a black hole were successfully taken, the Be Grand podcast continues this commitment to expanding the boundaries of human knowledge as robotics expert Conor McGinn drops in for a chat.  Conor is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the Robotics & Innovation Lab at Trinity College Dublin whose pioneering work is changing the future. Topics include how to make a robot funny, the need for diversity in engineering and his team’s remarkable work constructing a robot to combat loneliness.  Then there’s the question on everyone’s* mind: in the event of a robot apocalypse, is Wicklow safe?  Tune in to find out what elements of a machine uprising are movie nonsense and what possibilities should genuinely trouble us.  Will this be the episode when Andy’s galaxy brain ascends to a higher level of consciousness or will this be the moment when the frontier pushes back? * Andy’s