After spending years developing a human-sized surgical laser robot, Dr. Jessica Brugner-Kahrs happened upon a conference presentation that changed her life—and the entire field of robotics. The idea was to build robots with soft curves, small enough to go up your nose and operate on your brain. Over more than a decade, Jessica developed this idea into a class of robots called "continuum" robots, revolutionizing the way we think about what robots can do. Along the way Jessica battled loneliness, personal doubt, and skeptical colleagues, ultimately discovering that creative ideas require community support to develop and grow.

Dr. Jessica Burgner-Kahrs is the founding Director of University of Toronto’s Continuum Robotics Lab, where she is inventing the future of robotics. Jessica builds robots that move like an elephant’s trunk but are small enough to thread into your nose and operate on your brain. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx