Watch Jamie in Action
About Jamie Paik
Jamie Paik builds robots that refuse to hold a single shape. Paik designs soft and reconfigurable machines that transform themselves to match the task at hand. Her lab draws on multi-material fabrication and smart-material actuation to produce robots that push the physical limits of materials and mechanisms.
Paik has built robots across her whole career, first as a humanoid robotics engineer and then in soft, reconfigurable systems. She earned her Ph.D. sponsored by Samsung Electronics, designing a humanoid arm and hand; at 3.7 kilograms including its eight-degree-of-freedom hand, the arm was the lightest in the research literature at the time. During postdoctoral work in Paris, she developed JAiMY, internationally patented laparoscopic surgical tools now commercialized by ENDOCONTROL.
Jamie's Keynote Topics
Why Robots That Transform — Not Just Walk — Will Reshape Your Industry
Humanoid robots dominate headlines, with projections of a $38 billion market by 2035. But while the industry races to build robots that look like us, a parallel revolution is quietly unfolding — one that may prove even more transformative. Reconfigurable Robotics Lab founder and director Jamie Paik, Ph.D. has spent her career building robots: first as a humanoid robotics engineer, then as a pioneer in soft, reconfigurable systems. In this talk, she reveals why the future of automation isn’t just about making robots more human—it’s about making them more adaptable. Drawing on her experience bringing “robogami” technology from research lab to Mercedes-Benz concept cars, surgical tools, and space applications, she explores:
- The Humanoid Promise—and Its Limits
- The Case for Transformation
- The Modular Advantage
Lessons From AI’s Limits and What They Mean for the Future of Work
The AI industry recently hit a surprising barrier: after years of exponential progress, simply adding more computing power and data is delivering diminishing returns. GPT models are plateauing. The “scaling wall” is real. Robotics is approaching the same inflection point—but few have recognized it yet. Reconfigurable Robotics Lab founder and director Jamie Paik, Ph.D., who built humanoid robots before pioneering soft, reconfigurable systems, reveals a fundamental truth: in both AI and robotics, more complexity doesn’t always mean better performance. Sometimes, it makes the problem worse. In this talk, she draws powerful parallels between the challenges facing large language models and the physical limits of robotic systems, offering a framework for thinking about the future of intelligent automation:
- The Scaling Paradox
- Intelligence vs. Capability
- Preparing for the Next Wave
Articles by Jamie Paik
Surface-Based Manipulation With Modular Foldable Robots
2026IEEE Robotics and Automation LettersCPG-Based Manipulation With Multi-Module Origami Robot Surface
2025Nature CommunicationsOptimized User-Guided Motion Control of Modular Robots
2025Soft MatterIntroduction to Soft Robotics
2024Nature Machine IntelligenceMorphological Flexibility in Robotic Systems Through Physical Polygon Meshing
2023Nature CommunicationsMulti-Modal Deformation and Temperature Sensing for Context-Sensitive Machines
2023Jamie Paik's Research
Jamie in the Media
Resource Sharing Boosts Robotic Resilience
A Color-Based Sensor for Soft Robots to Emulate Skin's Sensitivity
From TV to Reality: How Transformable Robots Will Change Our Life
Groundbreaking Polygon Shape-Changing Robot for Space Exploration
Ikea Trembles as Scientists Invent Flat Packable Robot
These 2D Machines Can Shapeshift Into Moving 3D Robots
Mori3: A Polygon Shape-Shifting Robot for Space Travel
Robogamis Are the Real Heirs of Terminators and Transformers
Swarm Robots Mimic Ant Jaws to Flip and Jump
New Soft Actuator Creates Robots that 'Breathe'
Bring Jamie to your next event
Tell us about your event and we will be in touch right away.
