Ep.06 - David Packman, Co-Founder Packabby Robotics | Social Robots & AI That Remembers
Explore social robots, emotional AI, and long-term memory with David Packman, co-founder of Packabby Robotics.
Jim Bennett is head of developer advocacy at Pieces, focusing on enabling developers to be more productive by leveraging contextual awareness of not only the code they write but the content they read and the conversations they have.
David Packman is the co-founder of Packabby Robotics, a company pioneering the future of AI-powered social companion robots. With a passion for human-centered technology, David builds emotionally intelligent robots like Mini Moe and Whiskas — designed to offer nonjudgmental support, especially for neurodiverse individuals and those seeking social connection. Drawing inspiration from nostalgic digital assistants like Clippy, David explores how long-term memory and conversational AI can create more meaningful, personalized human-robot interactions.
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Insights
🟢 David and Jim revisit Clippy, the classic Microsoft assistant, as a jumping-off point to discuss the emotional power of friendly, judgment-free AI companions.
🟢 Packabby’s Mini Moe is a small, approachable robot designed to offer companionship – especially helpful for neurodiverse individuals who benefit from practicing social interactions in safe, nonjudgmental environments.
🟢 Humans are naturally drawn to anthropomorphic characters. Giving robots a face and personality increases emotional engagement and trust.
🟢 To navigate difficult or sensitive questions, Packabby uses advanced decision trees to guide interactions thoughtfully and ethically.
🟢 One of Packabby’s robots, Whiskas, helps with cooking while bringing personality and companionship into the kitchen—making everyday tasks feel more collaborative.
🟢 Long-term memory allows social robots to personalize interactions over time. For example, remembering how you adjusted a recipe transforms the robot from a simple assistant into a truly helpful companion.
🟢 Just like Packabby’s robots, Pieces’ Long-Term Memory feature helps retrieve relevant, contextual information to power smarter AI interactions—whether that’s recalling coding tasks or previous conversations.
🟢 From choosing the color of your Mini Moe to shaping its personality, personalization plays a key role in building trust and connection with robotic companions.
🟢 Ongoing conversations become more natural and meaningful when robots remember past interactions—enabling continuity, empathy, and deeper engagement.
Timeline
0:01:49 - Why and how David built Clippy
0:08:49 - Introducing Mini Moe, a small robot companion
0:14:18 - Why humans like interacting with anthropomorphic characters
0:24:33 - Using decision trees to handle difficult questions
0:32:05 - Whiskas, the cooking robot
0:36:42 - Long-Term memory is important for social robots
0:42:59 - Get you brown Mini Moe
0:46:29 - More on conversational and long-term memory
