2025 Plenary Sessions
Below you will find a list of plenary sessions taking place throughout ICRA 2025.
Tuesday, 20 May
Title: Rewired: The Interplay of Robots and Society
Abstract: Seventy-five years after the first industrial robots tackled the three D’s – dirty, dull, and dangerous work – today’s robots inhabit our homes, hospitals, and even our bodies. They can heal or harm, displace jobs or create new ones, isolate or connect us. In this talk, I’ll trace the dynamic interplay between robotics and society through examples in human-robot physical interaction and medical applications. I’ll begin with teleoperated surgical systems, which are now a staple in operating rooms, and move to 3D robotic bioprinters that aim to fabricate organs. Next, I’ll explore in-home care solutions driven by demographic shifts, such as declining birth rates, immigration policies, and longer lifespans. Through alternative morphologies such as everting “vine robots” that lift non-ambulatory patients and enable soft, self-donning garments, I will demonstrate how innovative designs enrich the ways robots can assist us with daily life. Advances in robot brains and bodies not only open new possibilities, but also compel us to rethink what care, agency, and connection mean in a world that may soon depend on these machines.
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Dr. Allison Okamura
Dr. Allison Okamura is the Richard W. Weiland Professor of Engineering at Stanford University in the mechanical engineering department and has a courtesy appointment in computer science. She is a founding member of the Stanford Robotics Center, a deputy director of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, and a Science Fellow of the Hoover Institution.
Dr. Okamura has more than thirty years of years of experience in research, teaching, and development of human-centered robotics, including medical robots, soft robots, and wearable robots. She directs the Collaborative Haptics and Robotics in Medicine (CHARM) Laboratory at Stanford, which develops principles and tools needed to realize advanced robotic and human-machine systems capable of haptic (touch) interaction. She has led research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the FBI. Dr. Okamura has also been on the advisory board of companies developing robots for environments ranging from surgical operating rooms to warehouses. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and has been recognized for her leadership through numerous awards, including the 2020 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Technical Achievement Award, 2019 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Distinguished Service Award, and 2016 Duca Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.
Dr. Okamura contributed to several iterations of the US Robotics Roadmap, a report that outlines the future of robotics in the United States, including societal drivers, research needs, and challenges. She leads the robotics focus area of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR), an initiative aiming to elucidate technology breakthroughs and their policy implications. She is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Autonomous Systems.
Wednesday, 21 May
Title: So you want to build a robot company?
Abstract: Many roboticists dream of someday starting their own company and building robots that transform industries and aid people in how they work. Dr. Lau is one of the few roboticists who has done this successfully. Dusty Robotics is the industry-leading construction robotics company, with robots on construction sites across North America. In this session, Dr. Lau will share lessons learned on what to do — and what NOT to do — when building a robotics company. From epic robot failures to product-market fit, Dr. Lau will share the hard truth behind what it takes to build and scale a robotics company that can revolutionize traditional workflows, enhance worker safety, and create meaningful impact in the construction industry.
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Dr. Tessa Lau
Dr. Tessa Lau is an award-winning roboticist who is the founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics. Dusty is revolutionizing the construction industry as the best solution to ensure design integrity in the field through automated layout and a streamlined BIM-tofield process. Prior to Dusty Robotics, Dr. Lau was co-founder, CTO, and Chief Robot Whisperer at Savioke (Relay) Robotics, where she automated hotel delivery and orchestrated the global distribution and management of consumer-facing robots. Dr. Lau got her start in robotics at Willow Garage, the legendary research lab and technology incubator known as one of the most influential forces in modern robotics. Willow Garage was responsible for the creation of an open-source robot operating system that’s still being used by academics, engineers, and hobbyists around the world today. Dr. Lau is a frequent speaker at business, technology, and construction conferences and has received numerous awards, including 2023 Construction Dive’s Up and Coming Women in Construction, Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence, SVR’s Innovation Award, and the Award for Excellence from the Association of Computer Machinery. Currently living in Silicon Valley, Dr. Lau holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Washington.
Thursday, 22 May
Title: Models are dead, long live models!
Abstract: Mathematical models are indispensable for system design. Until recently, one could argue that this was also true for robot control design. Recent advances in AI are calling this basic assumption into question. In this talk, I will present my first-hand experiences in model-based control design, ranging from soccer playing robots to fleets of autonomous mobile robots in warehouses – on the ground and in the air — to acrobatic flying robots. I will conclude by introducing CyberRunner, an opensource ML platform developed at ETH based on the popular “Labyrinth” dexterity game in which a ball is guided through a maze and must avoid traps. CyberRunner learns through experience and can beat any human with only 1 hour of training and without any priors.
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Prof. Raffaello (Raff) D'Andrea
Raffaello (Raff) D’Andrea is a professor, engineer, artist, and entrepreneur.
He earned his PhD from Caltech and began his career at Cornell, where he co-founded the Systems Engineering program and led the Robot Soccer Team to four RoboCup world championships. In 2003, he co-founded Kiva Systems, which revolutionized warehouse automation before its acquisition by Amazon, later rebranded as Amazon Robotics. In 2008, Raff joined ETH Zurich, where his research team develops pioneering robotics platforms, including Cubli, the Flying Machine Arena, and CyberRunner.
In 2014, he co-founded Verity, a company specializing in AI-powered, drone-enabled inventory tracking systems and mobile intelligence. Verity’s technology is now deployed in over 100 warehouses worldwide with clients such as IKEA, Maersk, and UPS. Raff’s artistic contributions include drone choreographies for Cirque du Soleil, Céline Dion and Metallica, with his works featured at the Venice Biennale and in the National Gallery of Canada.
Raff is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the Logistics Hall of Fame. He has received the Engelberger Robotics Award and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Award and is named as an inventor on over 100 patents.
