On January 22, 2025, the latest installment of the Dublin Tech Summit’s Tech Hive Webinar Series brought together Jack McCauley, renowned inventor and co-founder of Oculus VR, and Dr Robert Ross, ADAPT at TU Dublin, to discuss “Bridging the Gap Between Humans and Robots”.
The Tech Hive Webinar Series, hosted by Dublin Tech Summit, offers a platform for leading voices in technology to discuss emerging trends and innovations. By bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, the series fosters collaboration and inspires progress across industries.
The webinar featured a keynote presentation by Jack McCauley, who drew on decades of experience in hardware innovation. During his talk he highlighted the potential for robotics to transform sectors such as healthcare, education, and personal assistance. He stressed the importance of combining intuitive user interfaces with robust machine learning to create robots that feel natural in human environments.
Following his talk a fireside chat, chaired by Dr Ross, unpacking critical challenges and opportunities in the field. Topics included ethical considerations in HRI, the role of AI in enhancing robot adaptability, and the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure that robotic systems are both effective and trustworthy. Dr Ross also shared insights from ADAPT’s research programme on leveraging machine learning and natural language processing to improve human-robot communication.
The event attracted a diverse audience of professionals, academics, and students.
For those who missed the live session, a recording is available on YouTube:
