Why Intempus thinks robots should have a human physiological state | TechCrunch
May 25, 2025 - techcrunch.com
Teddy Warner, a 19-year-old entrepreneur with a background in robotics, is developing a company called Intempus, which aims to enhance human-robot interaction by retrofitting existing robots with human-like emotional expressions. The technology focuses on using kinetic movements to convey emotions, helping humans better predict robot behavior and generating data to improve AI models. Warner's inspiration for Intempus came from his work at AI research lab Midjourney, where he realized the importance of spatial reasoning in AI models. He began experimenting with physiological data, such as sweat, body temperature, and heart rate, to create an emotional composition for robots.
Intempus, launched in September 2024, has already partnered with seven enterprise robotics companies and is part of the Thiel Fellowship program. Warner, who has been working solo, plans to expand his team and test the technology with humans. While the current focus is on retrofitting existing robots, Warner is open to the idea of developing Intempus's own emotionally intelligent robots in the future. His goal is to create robots that can innately convey emotions and intentions, making interactions with humans more natural and less uncanny.
Key takeaways:
Teddy Warner founded Intempus to make robots more human-like by adding emotional expressions through kinetic movements.
Intempus aims to improve human-robot interaction and AI model training by using physiological data such as sweat, body temperature, and heart rate.
Warner launched Intempus in September 2024 and has already signed seven enterprise robotics partners.
Intempus is part of the Thiel Fellowship program, and Warner plans to expand his team and test the technology with humans.
