The future of robots with us, not just among us

Texas A&M University hosted the global robotics community at the 22nd International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots (UR 2025), a dynamic showcase of the latest research and innovation shaping the future of robotics. 

Bringing together leading scientists, engineers and industry professionals from 15 countries, UR 2025 served as a platform for sharing advancements in autonomous systems, intelligent machines and human-robot interaction. The conference featured over 75 technical oral presentations, 32 poster presentations and live demonstrations highlighting real-world applications of ubiquitous robotic technologies across agriculture, healthcare, mobility and more. UR 2025 not only highlighted the immense talent within the Texas A&M research community but also talent from around the globe, reinforcing the mission of roboticists to redefine the boundaries of how we work and live.

The program began with four specialized workshops covering synthetic data generation for robotics, human-robot interface, cloud robotics and smart robots for agriculture. These sessions set the tone for a deeply interdisciplinary and collaborative gathering.

Dr. Arum Han, associate dean for research, opened the main session with an overview of the exciting robotics research taking place in Texas A&M’s College of Engineering and said, “We are very proud to be the host of this great robotics event and thank our Dr. Kiju Lee for making this happen. Having an opportunity to glimpse into the near future, where we will see robots everywhere helping our everyday life, is very inspiring.”

Three world-renowned speakers each presented their research, offering unique perspectives on the future of robotics:

Dr. Lydia E. Kavraki, director of the Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice University, characterized our current time as the “Golden Era of Robotics.” She shared her pioneering work at the intersection of robotics, artificial intelligence, and human-centered autonomous systems, emphasizing how algorithmic innovation can connect the digital and physical worlds. 

Dr. Masahiro Ono, a planetary roboticist, highlighted his published research and personal insights into advancing autonomous systems for planetary exploration. He related how adaptive and intelligent robots could enable the exploration of more distant and challenging worlds.

Dr. Paul Oh, the Lincy Professor of Unmanned Aerial Systems at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, spoke of reframing engineering problems to foster creativity and resilience in robotics design and innovation. He described the transformation of today’s passively surveying drones into ones that physically interact with the environment by attaching robotic limbs to rotorcraft, enabling real-world applications such as bridge maintenance.

The evening banquet, “Robots With Us,” featured a panel of speakers discussing how robots are becoming more deeply embedded in our personal and social lives, moving from being among us to with us. 

Dr. Kiju Lee, general chair of the conference and Texas A&M associate professor, moderated the panel, which brought together voices from academia, industry and the next generation to discuss trust, ethics and societal integration of robotics.

Kicking off the banquet was Ethan Hong, a high school student at the Geffen Academy and intern at UCLA’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory. He shared his journey to help solve the problem of food insecurity with his invention Food Angel, a robot that makes deliveries to individuals in need. 

Hong, with panel members Dr. Nancy Amato of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Youngmok Yun of Contoro Robotics and Dr. Gregory Chirikjian of the University of Delaware, offered diverse insights into how we can shape the future of human-robot coexistence.

The conference concluded with the panelists’ predictions of how robots will be used in 10 years. Ideas ranged from robotic companions for seniors to avatars that enable us to virtually travel to faraway locations, such as space.

“It was an incredible honor to bring UR 2025 to Texas A&M — the conference’s first time in Texas,” said Lee. “With our rapidly growing robotics program, it was the perfect moment to showcase our work and connect with some of the brightest minds in the field. After nearly a year of planning, welcoming attendees from around the world was an unforgettable and deeply rewarding experience.”

Lee collaborated with 15 conference organizing committee members, including Dr. Dongheui Lee, the editor-in-chief from Vienna University of Technology, and two program committee co-chairs, Dr. Joohyung Kim from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Dr. Chung Hyuk Park from George Washington University. Local committee members from Texas A&M, Dr. Robert Ambrose, Dr. Gaurav Pandey, Dr. Thomas Gray, Dr. Jason O’Kane, and Dr. Mohamed Gharib, were also instrumental in ensuring a successful event.

UR 2025 was co-hosted by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and the Korea Robotics Society. Sponsorship was provided by the University of Texas at Dallas, Tesollo, the Korea Institute of Robotics and Technology Convergence, Rainbow Robotics, Rainier Labs, Rajant, Haption, Faraday Dynamics, and TEES. Technical sponsorship was provided by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. 

By Jennifer Nichols, Texas A&M University College of Engineering

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