Jamie Paik

Videos

How to produce functional working prototypes with Prof. Jamie Paik
Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves | Jamie Paik
Building soft, reconfigurable, and interactive robots for medical and rehabilitation systems
Meet the Paik Lab
Nature of Robotics - In Conversation - Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and Prof. Jamie Paik
ITU INTERVIEWS @ ITU AI for Good Global Summit: Jamie Paik, Reconfigurable Robotics Lab
The future of robotics by Jamie Paik (TGCS-E14)
Stretching boundaries for flexible futures: Stephanie Lacour & Jamie Paik at TEDxHelvetia

Learn More About Jamie Paik

Jamie Paik, Ph.D. is founder and director of the Reconfigurable Robotics Lab (RRL), vice dean of the School of Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), and a core member of Swiss NCCR robotics group. The RRL leverages expertise in multi-material fabrication and smart material actuation for novel robot designs.

She received her Ph.D. from Seoul National University on designing a humanoid arm and hand while being sponsored by Samsung Electronics. This 7-DoF humanoid arm was the lightest in the literature at that time, being 3.7 kg including the 8-DoF hand.

During her postdoctoral positions at the Institut des Systems Intelligents et de Robotic at the Universitat Pierre Marie Curie, Paris VI, Paik developed laparoscopic tools named JAiMY that are internationally patented and commercialized now by ENDOCONTROL. At Harvard University’s Microrobotics Laboratory, she started developing unconventional robots that push the physical limits of material and mechanisms.

As seen in her TED Talk, Paik’s latest research effort is in soft robotics, which includes self-morphing Robogami (robotic origami) that transforms its planar shape to 2D or 3D by folding in predefined patterns and sequences, just like the paper art of origami.

Jamie Paik is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group^®.

Beyond Humanoids: The Next Evolution in Adaptive Automation

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

The Robot Scaling Wall: Why More Isn't Always Better

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: