Jens Peder Kristensen

The Robot Stack: How Robotics Became a Software Problem

Robotics is undergoing a fundamental shift: from machines programmed task by task to intelligent systems that learn from data, simulation and foundation models. In this talk, I will explore the emerging “robot stack” and show how technologies such as AI models, data pipelines, simulation, edge computing and fleet operations are becoming as important as the hardware itself. From autonomous cars and quadrupeds to the new generation of humanoid robots, the same software-driven architecture is beginning to appear across very different machines.

Bio:
I gave my first presentations about self-driving cars 20 years ago, moved into agricultural robots, and started my own company 11 years ago. The company (TinyMobileRobots) is still going strong, but I have since left daily operations and now run KeyResearch (keyresearch.dk), where I track the global physical AI and humanoid robotics industry: who is building what, what actually works, and which claims hold up under scrutiny. I publish for both technical and general audiences, in English on LinkedIn and in Danish communities.