Francesco Ferro, CEO of PAL Robotics, joins host Edgar Guerrero in Barcelona to discuss service robots, their uses in industry and care, and what it will take to bring them into daily life.
Ferro traces PAL Robotics’ start to a 2004 project to build a bipedal robot that could play chess. Four engineers delivered the first robot in 14 months, then developed later REEM models with autonomous navigation. The company eventually shifted some applications to wheeled robots, which Ferro considers more stable around people.
PAL’s StockBot uses RFID or cameras to track store inventory and find misplaced items. Ferro says more than 200 robots operate across 14 countries, and he describes Decathlon deployments that keep stock records current. For older people, mobile robots such as TIAGo could check in, help after a fall, and connect residents with family or care workers; remote operators could oversee several homes.
Ferro says inventory robots are designed to attract little attention, while social robots such as ARI use a more humanlike form to invite interaction. He describes the uncanny valley as a reason to keep robots recognizable as machines. In care settings, mobility and physical interaction could help in ways a fixed camera cannot, but healthcare decisions still need human oversight.
Ferro says household robots are still developing, and expects early products to handle specific tasks rather than every chore. For smooth factory floors, he argues wheeled robots can be safer, cheaper, and more capable than bipeds; humanoid form matters more on stairs or uneven terrain. He also says demonstrations may rely on teleoperation, which can be a useful first step.
Ferro discusses privacy and hacking concerns, noting that PAL’s care projects go through ethics review and that industrial cybersecurity is a serious operational issue. He argues Europe should build stronger local capabilities in robotics, cloud services, and security instead of relying heavily on foreign providers. PAL grew from four employees to about 100 through customer-funded, gradual growth rather than venture capital.
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