From Academia to Innovation: Jordi Pagès’ Journey at PAL Robotics

Meet Jordi Pagès, our colleague and the Manager of the Intralogistics Business Unit at PAL Robotics. Since joining the company in 2009, Jordi has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of technology, particularly in the field of visual perception for robots, and later on, in product management. With a background in Computer Science and a PhD in Computer Vision applied to robotics, Jordi has combined his expertise with a passion for innovation, playing a key role in the development of some of PAL Robotics’ most iconic products, including the TIAGo robot family. We had the opportunity to sit down with Jordi Pagès and discuss his career path, growth within the company, and the impact he has made on the world of robotics.

What initially attracted you to the field of robotics, and what made you decide to join PAL Robotics?

“I got a PhD on Robotics and Computer Vision at Universitat de Girona (Spain) and Université de Rennes I (France) back in 2005, and when in 2008 I heard about PAL Robotics, a company that was based in Barcelona, and that they were recruiting different people to work on humanoid and service robotics, I could not believe it! I was immediately attracted to the idea to resume my experiences in the Robotics field.”

What were your initial roles and responsibilities?

“I was responsible for endowing visual perception capabilities to the robots of the company. I started working on person detection and tracking, visual odometry, visual place recognition, object recognition, etc. During the first years, I was the only person working on these topics, and I had several interns to help me out.”

Jordi Pagès, alongside CEO Francesco Ferro, colleagues, and the REEM-H1 robot.

What was your first impression of PAL Robotics?

“That it was a unique and very special company, not only in Europe but worldwide. Furthermore, it was composed of a small team of hard-working young people coming from different countries, all with different backgrounds, and willing to succeed in a very competitive world, among other companies with much more people and resources. In addition to this, it was very nice to see that the environment was very friendly and many of us would become long-term friends.”

You have been instrumental in creating the famous TIAGo robot, which has become a popular choice among roboticists, and you are now leading the intralogistics business unit, delivering hundreds of StockBots to Decathlon stores and other retailers worldwide. What does it feel like to have played such a key role in these significant achievements of PAL Robotics?

“Well, I am already happy if people think that I’ve been a kind of ‘facilitator’ helping these robots to become successful and if people have enjoyed this journey with me. But certainly, I feel very proud to have contributed to this. I think it was a privilege that I was given such a responsibility in their development as projects and then as products. I will always feel thankful for the opportunity that was given to me because it made me grow not only as an Engineer but as a Manager and eventually as a person. I’ve learned that a job is not something static but something that keeps evolving and allows you to improve not only your technical skills but also to learn how to manage teams of people to focus efforts towards a common goal.

Yes, during my life I’ve faced, and I will certainly still face, many technological challenges, but nothing compared to the challenges of managing people and dealing with customers at the same time. I feel like I started as a junior football player, I grew into a more senior player, then I was appointed coach of a team, where I had to take the most out of the players I had, then I was appointed Manager in addition to coach, with more responsibility to decide who could take part in the team and how we wanted to play, and so on… Looking forward to seeing what is next and how I will be a valuable part if I keep evolving with humility and hard work.”

Jordi Pagès with the TIAGo robot.

Where do you envision PAL Robotics in the next 20 years?

“I think there will be more and more PAL Robotics delegations all over the world. I am pretty sure that we will have offices in the US, Asia, and Oceania, and that we will not have to wait too long to see this. Furthermore, I envision PAL Robotics focusing more and more on providing a large variety of final solutions based on robotics and offering Robots as a Service (RaaS) business models and penetrating the domestic market, not only research, industry, and commercial environments like so far. And I am quite convinced that PAL Robotics will become a key player in AI, as Robotics without AI will become meaningless in the coming years.”

Jordi Pagès StockBot and TIAGo OMNI robots.

To which of the previous and/or current PAL Robotics robots do you relate the most?

“I started 15 years ago working on REEM, then it was REEM-C, TIAGo Base, TIAGo, TIAGo++, TIAGo OMNI, StockBot… I have great memories of good and not-so-good moments with all of them, but if I had to choose, TIAGo and StockBot are the ones where I feel I’ve got more impact and from which I’ve learned the most. I often say that I have three children, and TIAGo is almost like the fourth one.”

Jordi Pagès’ journey at PAL Robotics is a testament to his dedication, hard work, and passion for robotics. His contributions have not only helped shape some of the company’s most successful products but have also driven him to grow as a leader. As PAL Robotics continues to expand and innovate, Jordi’s story serves as an inspiring example of how one can evolve alongside the cutting-edge technology they help create. The future looks bright for Jordi Pagès and PAL Robotics, and we look forward to seeing how they continue to make an impact in the world of robotics.

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