A Day in the Life of a Roboticist: Charlie Kemp
This researcher and entrepreneur builds assistive robots to help people live more independently.
Written by Robots Team | September 28, 2026
In this edition of our A Day in the Life of a Roboticist series, we meet Charlie Kemp, cofounder and chief technology officer of Hello Robot, who develops mobile manipulators to help people in their homes and workplaces. His interest in robotics began with the grand challenges of artificial intelligence, and his work has taken him from humanoid robots at MIT to assistive robots for older adults and people with disabilities.
"Working at Hello Robot is a rewarding experience," he says. "I love the community using Stretch robots as research and development platforms. They're discovering new ways that human-friendly robots can benefit society."
Charlie Kemp, cofounder and CTO of Hello Robot, develops assistive robots for homes and workplaces. Photo: Hello Robot
Charlie Kemp: Discovering New Ways That Human-Friendly Robots Can Benefit Society
Where do you work?
Hello Robot, which makes the Stretch mobile manipulator.
What is your job title?
Cofounder and Chief Technology Officer.
What degrees do you have?
Degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT):
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Advisor: Prof. Rod Brooks)
- M.Eng., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- B.S., Computer Science and Engineering (minor in Cognitive Science)
What's your favorite robot?
Stretch 4, of course!
My favorite humanoid is the Stuntronic Spider-Man by Disney Imagineering. You can see it at the Avengers Campus within Disney California Adventure. It's a beautiful example of the human form being essential to an application. Too often, robots mimic human attributes without a clear justification, but this robot has to look like Spider-Man! The robot safely entertains audiences by consistently executing extreme acrobatic maneuvers. It's also cleverly engineered to reduce the degrees of freedom while achieving compelling motion. You can see a behind-the-scenes look here. When you watch it, consider the q...