This episode is a special crossover between the Practical AI podcast and The Changelog podcast. Chris was recently invited by longtime friends Jerod Santo and Adam Stacoviak, cohosts of The Changelog, to join them on the show. They discuss AI, drones, robotics, swarming technology, and the rise of high-performance edge computing with Rust. Chris points out that open source software, small AI models, and affordable hardware are making home automation and local AI accessible to everyone. From automating household functions to experimenting with drones and single-board computers, Chris describes how hands-on maker projects are shaping a bright future for physical AI, on small budgets and right from the comfort of your own home.

Featuring:

Jerod Santo – LinkedIn
Adam Stacoviak – LinkedIn
Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X

Sponsors:

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Upcoming Events:

This week we have extended show notes below from Chris!

Swarming & Fully Autonomous Multi-Agent UxV Systems

Chris’s Definition of Swarming (anchor link in show notes)

Chris’s definition of Swarming
“Swarming occurs when numerous independent fully-autonomous multi-agentic platforms exhibit highly-coordinated locomotive and emergent behaviors with agency and self-governance in any domain (air, ground, sea, undersea, space), functioning as a single independent logical distributed decentralized decisioning entity for purposes of C3 (command, control, communications) with human operators on-the-loop, to implement actions that achieve strategic, tactical, or operational effects in the furtherance of a mission.”
© 2025 Chris Benson

Conceptual Foundations

Swarm Robotics – Wikipedia
High-level overview of swarm robotics as decentralized robot collectives.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_robotics
Swarm Robotic Platforms – Wikipedia
Survey of hardware platforms used in swarm robotics research.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_robotic_platforms
Swarm Intelligence – Wikipedia
Broader algorithms and theory behind collective intelligence (beyond robots).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_intelligence
Ant Robotics – Wikipedia
Nature-inspired “ant-like” robotics as a special case of swarm robotics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_robotics

Open Research & Multi-Robot Resources (Stepping-Stones Toward True Swarms)

Programming Multiple Robots with ROS 2 (online book)
Free book on multi-robot systems, ROS 2, and the Robot Middleware Framework (RMF).
https://osrf.github.io/ros2multirobotbook
Simulation with ROS 2 & Gazebo (ROS 2 Humble tutorial)
Official tutorial on connecting ROS 2 to Gazebo simulation.
https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Tutorials/Advanced/Simulators/Gazebo/Gazebo.html
Spawning Multiple Robots in Gazebo with ROS 2
Hands-on tutorial to launch N robots in Gazebo, each with its own namespace.
https://www.theconstruct.ai/spawning-multiple-robots-in-gazebo-with-ros2
ROS 2 Multi-Robot Simulation Best Practices (Discourse thread)
Discussion of patterns for multi-robot systems (domains, namespaces, Nav2, etc.).
https://discourse.openrobotics.org/t/multi-robot-simulation-best-practices/38987

Getting Hands-On: Consumer Robotics, ROS 2 & Gazebo

ROS 2 (Robot Operating System 2)

Official ROS 2 Documentation – Humble (LTS)
Main docs for ROS 2 Humble (recommended distro) with tutorials and APIs.
https://docs.ros.org/en/humble
ROS 2 Installation Guide (Humble)
Step-by-step install on supported platforms.
https://docs.ros.org/en/humble/Installation.html
“From Zero to Robotics Hero: A Beginner’s Guide to ROS 2” (article)
Beginner-friendly overview with ideas for where to go next (MoveIt, Nav2, multi-robot, etc.).
https://riyagoja.medium.com/from-zero-to-robotics-hero-a-beginners-guide-to-ros-2-90ac9c3b87ba
ROS 2 Tutorial for Beginners (2025 guide)
Up-to-date intro that walks you from install to simulating your first robot in 2025.
https://www.timesofexplore.com/2025/10/ros2-tutorial-beginners-build-first-robot-2025.html

Gazebo Simulation

Gazebo Sim – Official Site
Modern Gazebo (Ignition) simulator; models, worlds, and docs.
https://gazebosim.org
Getting Started with Gazebo (Docs)
Official “start here” guide for using Gazebo and Gazebo Fuel assets.
https://gazebosim.org/docs/latest/getstarted
Classic Gazebo Tutorials (still useful for fundamentals)
https://classic.gazebosim.org/tutorials

micro-ROS (ROS 2 on Microcontrollers)

micro-ROS – ROS 2 for Microcontrollers
Official site for running ROS 2 on tiny embedded boards.
https://micro.ros.org
micro-ROS GitHub Organization
Repositories, examples, and tutor...