Moving Machines
Dennis is a robot expert. But that doesn’t mean building bots is easy. “It’s trickier than you think to make a robot walk smoothly with two feet!” he says.

Courtesy of Dr. Dennis Hong

CCSS

R.1, R.3, R.4, L.2

The Robot Designer

Dennis Hong wants to create machines that make our lives better.

October 2025

by Hailee Romain and Alex Lim-Chua Wee

Stephen Voss/Redux

What if you had a special robot to help you clean your room or take out the trash? That might sound like science fiction. But Dennis Hong wants to make it a reality.

Dennis is an engineer. He builds and tests robots at the University of California, Los Angeles. He’s also the director of the school’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory, or RoMeLa. His team has helped create robots that can cook dinner, drive a car, and help during natural disasters. We asked him about his cool job.

Art by Katy Dockrill

R2-D2 from Star Wars

What inspired you to work with robots?

When I was 7, I saw the first Star Wars movie. Seeing robots like R2-D2 and C-3PO blew me away. I was amazed by all the ways they could move. They could roll on wheels or walk with feet. After the movie, I told my parents I wanted to be a robot scientist.

What kinds of robots do you help create?

My lab does a lot of work with humanoid, or human-shaped, robots. In the future, I would like to have robots living with us in our homes. They could do the dishes or take out the trash. That’s why building robots that move like us is important. Everything in our lives—from doors to dishwashers—is designed to be used by people.

How does your team decide what to build?

We sometimes design robots for the government. We also work with companies. For example, we created a robot for a Korean food-delivery service. It’s a robotic cooking system named YORI. It can tell if ingredients are fresh. Then it fries, bakes, and boils them into meals.

Will robots take over our jobs someday?

Many people worry about that. But I think robots can help with our jobs. They can do work that people can’t or don’t want to do. We always think about how robots can help with “the three D’s.” That’s work that’s dull, dirty, or dangerous.

What is your favorite robot you’ve created?

They’re all my favorites! Our projects, big or small, make the world a better place. For example, we made a robotic car that allows a blind person to drive. Creating it reminded me just how much robots can improve our lives.