Intempus founder Warner is revolutionizing robotics by using human physiological data—such as sweat, heart rate, and body temperature—to grant machines an authentic “emotional composition.”
From Human Physiology to Robotic Empathy
“I was shocked at how quickly I could go from capturing sweat data for myself and a few of my friends and then training this model that can essentially allow robots to have an emotional composition solely based on sweat data,” Warner said.
Since the project’s inception, Warner has significantly broadened the data scope. The system now integrates photoplethysmography—a method for measuring blood volume changes at the skin’s microvascular level—alongside core metrics like body temperature and heart rate to deepen a robot’s capacity for emotional nuance.
Rapid Growth and Enterprise Adoption
Launched in September 2024, Intempus dedicated its initial four months to intensive research. This focus has translated into rapid commercial traction, with Warner successfully securing seven enterprise robotics partners in the following months.
The startup’s potential has also been recognized by the Thiel Fellowship program. This prestigious initiative provides young entrepreneurs with $200,000 in funding over two years, supporting those who choose to leave traditional academia to pursue high-impact business ventures.
The Road Ahead: Testing and Integration
Having operated as a solo team thus far, Warner is now prioritizing hiring to scale operations. The immediate goal is to transition from research to real-world human interaction testing. While the current business model focuses on retrofitting existing robotic systems with this emotional intelligence layer, Warner remains open to the possibility of building bespoke, emotionally aware robots in the future.
“I have a bunch of robots, and they run a bunch of emotions, and I want to have someone come in and just understand that this robot is a joyful robot, and if I can innately convey some emotion, some intents that the robot holds, then I’ve done my job properly,” Warner said. “I think I can, you know, really prove that I’ve done this over the next four to six months.”
