The impact of the robot revolution w/roboticist Henrik Christensen

What this episode covers

Henrik Christensen shares his views on the impact of the robot revolution and stories from his life in European robotics research. Henrik talks about how he got started in computer vision and how working with cameras on mobile platforms got him into robotics. We hear about him being part of early EU supported research projects and how that brought him to KTH in Stockholm and the Centre for Autonomous Systems While at KTH, he worked on early autonomous vacuum cleaners together with Electrolux. This fits well with his desire to both do interesting research and to transform the results into useful applications in the real world. Henrik also tells us how the European robotics network mailing list led to the creation of robotics roadmaps. Henrik and Per discusss that when it comes to talking about the robot revolution with the general public, Hollywood is our worst enemy, because the image they portray is usually completely incorrect. Henrik then shares his views on how the robot revolution will affect the labor market and the environment and also improve the life of the handicapped and elderly. It is a huge opportunity for all, and Per could not agree more.