At just 19 years old, Teddy Warner is already making a name for himself in the robotics industry. Growing up around machinery and robotics thanks to his family’s background, Warner spent much of his formative years immersed in a machinist shop. Now, he’s channeling his passion into Intempus, his own innovative robotics startup designed to make robots behave in ways that feel more human.
Intempus aims to retrofit existing robots with technology enabling them to emulate human physiological states. Warner believes giving robots the capability to exhibit human-like emotional responses through their movements can greatly improve interactions between humans and machines. These expressive, human-like movements—driven not by facial or verbal cues, but practical gestures and body language—can help humans intuitively understand and predict robotic actions.
“Most subconscious communication isn’t carried by faces or spoken words—it’s conveyed through subtle motions of our arms and torsos,” Warner explains. “And it’s not just us. Animals rely on similar visual movement cues to communicate.”
Warner began shaping the idea for Intempus during his tenure at AI research lab Midjourney. There, he observed the limitations faced by AI models trained predominantly on data generated by robots lacking innate spatial and physiological reasoning. Robots currently follow simplified action sequences: they observe something, then perform an action. However, Warner argues, humans and animals integrate an intermediate physiological state. Humans aren’t guided merely by immediate cause and effect; they’re influenced by internal emotional factors such as stress or enjoyment. Warner calls this crucial middle step the “B step.”
According to Warner, introducing physiological dynamics to robotic algorithms could massively enhance robot comprehension of the physical environment, resulting in more predictable, natural interactions with human users. Initially experimenting with fMRI data to study brain patterns, Warner found that approach ineffective. Turning to polygraph tests—which measure physiological indicators like perspiration—yielded immediate insights.
“I was genuinely surprised at how quickly I went from collecting sweat patterns from myself and friends to training a model able to simulate emotional states effectively,” he says.
Since those initial experiments, Warner has broadened the scope of Intempus, leveraging various other physiological metrics. Besides sweat, the company now uses indicators like heart rate, body temperature, and photoplethysmography—a technique that tracks changes in blood volume under the skin.
After officially establishing Intempus in September 2024, Warner dedicated the first four months exclusively to research and technology development. More recently, he’s transitioned toward forging partnerships and finding real-world enterprise customers. Intempus has already secured contracts with seven enterprise robotics firms.
Currently a participant in Peter Thiel’s prestigious Thiel Fellowship program—which provides young entrepreneurs with $200,000 over two years to develop their companies—Warner plans to accelerate the startup’s growth. Building out his team is his next priority, along with introducing the technology to human users to collect real-world feedback.
Although Intempus currently emphasizes upgrading established robotic platforms with physiological capabilities, Warner hasn’t ruled out eventually designing Intempus’s own line of emotionally intuitive robots.
“My ultimate vision is clear: When someone interacts with these robots, they should intuitively grasp the robot’s ‘mood,'” Warner says. “If people naturally understand when a robot is joyful or stressed, that will signify my goal has truly been achieved. I believe we’ll successfully demonstrate exactly that within the coming months.”
