Show Notes
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: Miro – Get the right things done faster with Miro's Innovation Workspace. AI Sidekicks, instant insights, and rapid prototyping—transform weeks of work into days. No more scattered docs or endless meetings. Help your teams get great done at Miro.com. Shopify – The commerce platform trusted by millions. From idea to checkout, Shopify gives you everything you need to launch and scale your business—no matter your level of experience. Build beautiful storefronts, market with built-in AI tools, and tap into the platform powering 10% of all U.S. eCommerce. Start your one-dollar trial at shopify.com/practicalai Upcoming Events: Register for upcoming webinars here!
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 BensonConceptual 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 Installat
More from Practical AI
AI is changing cybersecurity, accelerating vulnerability research and exploit development while raising new questions about reliability, risk, and guardrails. Daniel and Chris talk with Spencer McIntyre, Director of Exploit Development at VulnCheck, about how agents are being used to discover vulnerabilities, why many proof-of-concept exploits (POCs) fail to deliver, and how initial access intelligence helps security teams prioritize real threats. They also explore the limitations of AI-assisted exploitation, the challenges of AI guardrails for security researchers, and what these developments mean for the future of threat intelligence. Featuring: Spencer McIntyre – LinkedIn Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Links: VulnCheck Go Exploit framework Initial Access Intelligence Sponsors: Hostinger: Create your website today. Go to hostinger.com/practical and use practical for 10 percent off now. Resources and Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Prior Webinars from our partner Prediction Guard Midwest AI Summit 2026 Chris’s new book The Art of Swarming will be published soon, written to be the seminal foundational book for the fledgling swarming industry, defining the principles and architecture that enable autonomous agentic UxS swarms with emergent unified embodied intelligence.
Schools and universities are failing to adapt to our modern world, in which AI is becoming increasingly pervasive in all aspects of life and work. In fact, AI may be changing what should be considered foundational knowledge that all students must learn. In this Fully Connected episode, Daniel and Chris explore the role of AI in education and the future of learning. They note the bureaucratic inhibitors to educational reform, and the fact that classroom teachers don’t have the authority to innovate and personalize the learning process for their students, and discuss how AI tools can support personalized learning while preserving critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Featuring: Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Sponsors: SerpAPI: A Web Search API that gives developers real-time, structured access to search engine results. Visit serpapi.com/practicalai to get started for free and get 250 searches every month. Resources and Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Prior Webinars from our partner Prediction Guard Midwest AI Summit 2026 Chris’s new book The Art of Swarming will be published soon, written to be the seminal foundational book for the fledgling swarming industry, defining the principles and architecture that enable autonomous agentic UxS swarms with emergent unified embodied intelligence.
As AI reshapes how we work, create, and think about our roles, staying adaptable means understanding not just the technology, but our own stories and identities. Reed Frerichs joins Daniel and Chris to explore narrative intelligence, storytelling, leadership, and personal growth in an AI-driven world. They discuss how entrepreneurs and leaders can use AI tools to navigate changing roles, embrace uncertainty, and develop emotional intelligence along with Reed's “own, author, act” framework. Featuring: Reed Frerichs – Website, LinkedIn, Instagram Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Links: Inner Story Series (YouTube) Inner Story Series (Spotify) Inner Story Essays (Substack) Inner Story (Website) Inner Story (Instagram) Everspace The Lesson Sponsors: Framer: The enterprise-grade website builder that lets your team ship faster. Get 30% off at framer.com/practicalai Prediction Guard: A self-hosted AI control plane for running agents in high impact environments. predictionguard.com/practicalai Resources and Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Prior Webinars from our partner Prediction Guard Midwest AI Summit 2026
As AI moves beyond the cloud and into robots, vehicles, and other physical systems, new approaches to models, simulation, and inference are emerging. Daniel and Chris are joined by Ming-Yu Liu, Vice President of Cosmos Lab at NVIDIA, who shares his perspective on open models, world models, and the future of physical AI. They explore why open models matter for innovation, how world models can help AI understand and simulate the physical world, and what it could take to build increasingly capable physical AI systems. Featuring: Ming-Yu Liu – LinkedIn Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Links: NVIDIA Cosmos Sponsors: Midwest AI Summit: Join AI practitioners on October 15 in Indianapolis for practical sessions, hands-on discussions, and real-world AI solutions. Use code PracticalAI20 to save 20% on your registration. https://midwestaisummit.com/#tickets Prediction Guard: A self-hosted AI control plane for running agents in high impact environments. predictionguard.com/practicalai Resources and Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Prior Webinars from our partner Prediction Guard Midwest AI Summit 2026
AI agents are moving beyond laptops and prototypes and into enterprise environments where security, compliance, scalability, and reliability matter. Nick Kuhn from VMware Tanzu Platform joins Daniel and Chris to discuss what changes (and what doesn’t) when deploying agents alongside traditional applications. They explore agent build packs, MCP gateways, shared memory, identity, sandboxing, and what enterprises can learn from years of platform engineering. Nick also shares practical advice for organizations adopting agents today and looks at what the future of AI could mean for enterprise teams and software development. Featuring: Nick Kuhn – LinkedIn Daniel Whitenack – Website, GitHub, X Chris Benson – Website, LinkedIn, Bluesky, GitHub, X Sponsors: Midwest AI Summit: Join AI practitioners on October 15 in Indianapolis for practical sessions, hands-on discussions, and real-world AI solutions. Use code PracticalAI20 to save 20% on your registration. https://midwestaisummit.com/#tickets Prediction Guard: A self-hosted AI control plane for running agents in high impact environments. predictionguard.com/practicalai Resources and Events: Register for upcoming webinars here! Prior Webinars from our partner Prediction Guard Midwest AI Summit 2026