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Mars exploration pushes the boundaries of AI: An interview with NASA’s Vandi Verma
Take a seat at Mission Control as NASA’s Vandi Verma details the AI and software powering the Mars rovers and how her field of robotic operations has advanced over the past 20 years.
Vandi Verma has been designing and configuring robots for over 20 years. And where some may only dream of reaching new heights in their field, Verma has literally done so. In her work as chief engineer for robotic operations for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and deputy section manager for the mobility and robotics section at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she has sent robots to Mars and shaped the AI that powers their “thinking” and driving capabilities. In this interview with McKinsey’s David DeLallo, we get to learn what it means to test the limits of robotics in one of the highest-stakes environments there is. An edited version of their conversation follows.
