Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Irati Zamalloa is a leading voice in the quest to transform robotics from a landscape of closed, proprietary systems into an open, interoperable ecosystem. Her research focuses on hardware modularity, reconfigurable systems, and the critical infrastructure needed to break the cycle of vertical integration in robotics. Zamalloa’s most impactful contribution is the **Hardware Robot Operating System (H-ROS)**, a groundbreaking framework introduced in her 2017 paper (32 citations) that enables the creation of vendor-agnostic, plug-and-play robot components. This work directly addresses the industry’s slow progress and high costs by allowing hardware to be dynamically recognized and reconfigured, much like USB devices for a computer. Complementing this, she developed the **Hardware Robot Information Model (HRIM)** to provide a standardized language for modular components. Her visionary perspective is further captured in her review of robotics history and future trends (16 citations), where she positions robotics as the catalyst for the fourth industrial revolution. By arguing that hardware modularity is essential for the convergence of Robotics and AI, Zamalloa is laying the foundational bricks for a future of truly self-adaptable, intelligent machines.