Chris Kudla: A Humanoid to Hug,' Just Right' Level of Human | Turn the Lens Ep53

Chris Kudla, Co-Founder and CEO of Mind Children, explains why his company is building social humanoid robots instead of utility workers. While most humanoids focus on warehouse tasks and manufacturing, Mind Children is tackling the harder problem: creating robots for education, healthcare, hospitality, and elder care—applications where empathy and emotional connection matter most.

In this conversation from Humanoids Summit 2025, Chris walks through the challenging engineering problem of avoiding the "Uncanny Valley"—that unsettling feeling when robots look almost, but not quite, human. He explains Mind Children's deliberate design choices for their prototype Codey: a 3-foot tall robot with a gray silicone face, nine servo motors creating expressions, and proportions intentionally kept away from human-like features to stay "just right."

KEY TOPICS:

• Why social humanoids require different engineering than utility robots

• The Uncanny Valley phenomenon and strategies to avoid it

• Codey's animatronic face: 9 servo motors with silicone skin

• How children naturally engage with robots versus screens

• Teachers using humanoids as in-class assistants for breakout sessions

• Students teaching concepts back to Codey to reinforce learning

• The comfort animal analogy: empowering workers, not replacing them

• Spinning off from SingularityNET's open-source AI research

• MVP roadmap: 10-30 pilot units by late 2026

STANDOUT QUOTES: "We're building a social humanoid robot. Everything revolves around human interaction—education, health care, hospitality—applications where empathy really matters."

"When we put Codey in front of children, they just run up and want to talk to him. They're not looking at a screen—they're actually communicating in the real world."

"We made the face gray. A gray face is not very human, but it still maintains emotional expressiveness while staying as far away from the Uncanny Valley as we can be."

"A really effective learning method is for the student to teach it back to someone else. Students could actually teach Codey, and that reinforces their own learning."

ABOUT CHRIS KUDLA: Chris Kudla is Co-Founder and CEO of Mind Children, leading development of empathetic humanoid robots for social applications. The company originated as a spinoff from SingularityNET, an open-source, decentralized AI research organization focused on beneficial AI development. Mind Children is currently mid-seed round with plans to deploy pilot units in education and healthcare settings by late 2026.

PRODUCTS DISCUSSED:

• Codey: 3-foot tall social humanoid with animatronic face, motorized wheeled base, and mechanical arms/legs designed for educational and healthcare applications

This interview was conducted in collaboration with Humanoids Summit SV 2025. Humanoids Summit is organized by ALM Ventures.

LINKS:
Mind Children : https://mindchildren.com
SingularityNET: https://singularitynet.io
Humanoids Summit: https://humanoidssummit.com
Turn the Lens: https://turnthelenspodcast.com

Turn the Lens explores how technology impacts work, organizations, and human potential through in-depth conversations with innovators shaping the future of work.

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