How Robotics, AI, and Automation are Changing Our Future

Interviewer: Dr. Henrik Christensen, thank you so much for joining me here today.

Dr. Christensen: Great to be here.

Interviewer: You are the Qualcomm Chancellor’s Chair in Robot Systems at UC San Diego—not a bad place to live.

Dr. Christensen: Not a bad place if you ignore the taxes.

Interviewer: At the University, what are some of the key challenges and opportunities you’re excited about in the design of robots?

Dr. Christensen: At UCSD, we focus on three main areas. First, enabling technologies—this includes new materials, new types of robot hands, and better end-effectors than we’ve had before. Second, healthcare robotics—making healthcare more accessible. For example, since San Diego is a major military city, we work with the Navy on remote presence. If someone is in the middle of the Pacific on a ship or aircraft carrier, could we provide them access to the best surgeons anywhere in the world?

Third, autonomous driving—running shuttle services on campus, or our new autonomous scooter project. People often leave scooters anywhere after using them; our goal is to have them return automatically to a docking area for the next user.

On a broader scale, I’m also involved in writing the U.S. National Robotics Roadmap. A big opportunity is integrating AI into everything—from customer service to better programming. Collaborative robots are becoming truly collaborative, not just “fence-free” machines. That’s exciting.

Interviewer: With so much change and new technology emerging, how do you prepare your students for jobs in the future?

Dr. Christensen: I focus on three things. First, problem-solving skills. Second, learning how to acquire new knowledge—because the skills they have today will be outdated in just a few years. Third, execution—it’s not enough to solve problems theoretically; you have to do it. In my classes, students receive a small robot and over 10 weeks, they go from nothing to building, mapping, planning, and controlling it. It’s real-world experience in the classroom.

Interviewer: At A3, we talk a lot about educating the next generation. How should A3 collaborate more with universities?

Dr. Christensen: First, I don’t think everyone needs to go to college. We need more trade school training in robotics. Millions of jobs are unfilled today, and for many, trade school is a better, faster, more affordable option. Our education system should cover trade schools, universities, and continuing education, because technology moves too fast to stop learning.

A3 can be a catalyst—bringing real-world use cases into academia, helping educators understand the practical side, and ensuring what’s taught is relevant. Interviewer: Let’s talk about some of the research you’re excited about.

Dr. Christensen: I’m very excited about using modern AI to simplify programming for robot hands. For decades, we’ve had basic parallel grippers, and more advanced hands were too difficult to program. Now we can use AI to make this feasible and cost-effective.

I’m also excited about autonomy—like our scooter project—and finding new business cases where safety risks are lower. I believe AI will be like electricity—embedded everywhere. But it needs to be accessible to everyone, not just a privileged few.

Interviewer: How do you bridge the gap between research and real-world use?

Dr. Christensen: We work with usability labs, bringing in everyday people to test and evaluate our technology. We observe, redesign when needed, and test again. On campus, we run autonomy trials in real environments—40,000 students walking around unpredictably is a perfect test. We collaborate with companies to address real-world edge cases.

Interviewer: How do you ensure AI is safe as it scales?

Dr. Christensen: Safety must be a first-class priority. One accident can damage the entire industry’s reputation. We’re moving toward certifiably safe AI, better testing, and using technologies like blockchain for traceability—knowing exactly where data comes from.

We must define safe operating boundaries and expand them gradually. The robotics industry has a strong history of safety standards, and we can’t lower them. Deploying without adequate safety—hoping it works—is unacceptable.

Interviewer: At A3, we value our standards team highly.

Dr. Christensen: You have an amazing team.

Interviewer: Thank you. Dr. Christensen, it’s been a pleasure talking to you today.

Dr. Christensen: Great talking to you. Thanks.