Robots that walk, talk, dance, and perform backflips make great videos. But can they close the blinds? Help someone eat? Scratch an itch?
For people with severe mobility impairments, those everyday tasks can mean greater independence. And they’re exactly the kinds of jobs Hello Robot designed its home-assistance robot, Stretch, to tackle.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Hello Robot CEO and co-founder Aaron Edsinger will bring Stretch 4 to the Real World AI Stage for the session “Come, Meet Stretch. The Robot Built for Real Life, Not a Demo Reel.” The live demo takes physical AI out of the lab and puts it to work alongside people, showing what’s possible when usefulness, safety, and accessibility drive robot design.
The timing couldn’t be better. Stretch 4 launched in May, and its first production run was already sold out when TechCrunch caught up with Edsinger in June. While much of the robotics industry is focused on humanoids, Hello Robot is taking a different route: a compact robot on wheels with a telescoping arm designed to navigate human spaces and perform useful tasks.
Want to see what physical AI can do when usefulness drives the design? See Stretch 4 in action on the Real World AI Stage. Secure your pass to Disrupt and save up to $200 before prices increase on September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Bring a colleague or partner for 50% off, or save up to 30% when you bring a group of four or more.
What does it take to build a useful robot?
Stretch 4 doesn’t need legs to get around. It rolls. It doesn’t need two arms to pick things up. Its single telescoping arm reaches out to grab and manipulate objects. The robot is compact enough to operate in spaces designed for people and equipped with the sensors, perception, and contact sensitivity needed to work around them.
Those design decisions become more meaningful when you see what people are doing with the technology. Users with severe mobility impairments who use Stretch technology can feed themselves, close blinds, and even scratch an itch. TechCrunch recently profiled one user with quadriplegia who has used Stretch to help him drink a protein shake, handle his glasses, and brush his teeth.
That’s a very different measure of progress from a slick demo video. At Disrupt, attendees will get to watch Stretch 4 work live and hear how Hello Robot is approaching physical AI for environments where robots and people share the same space.
See Stretch 4 up close on the Real World AI Stage. Register for Disrupt with up to $200 in ticket savings before September 25 at 11:59 p.m. Bring a plus-one and save 50% on their pass.
Meet the roboticist behind Stretch
Aaron Edsinger has spent his career building robots designed to work with people. Before co-founding Hello Robot, he founded Meka Robotics and Redwood Robotics, two robotics companies acquired by Google in 2013. As robotics director at Google, Edsinger led the business, product, and technical development of two of the company’s central robotics investments and worked with senior leadership to help define its broader robotics strategy.
His expertise covers virtually the entire robot product design stack, from human-robot interaction and UX to mechanical and industrial design, manufacturing, software architecture, real-time control, robotic arms, hands, and humanoids. That experience now comes together at Hello Robot, where the goal isn’t to build a robot that looks the most human. It’s to build one that people can actually use.
Stretch 4 is Hello Robot’s latest step toward that goal. The company says the new generation was shaped by six years of customer feedback and comes with a full-stack, open source software platform for researchers and developers working on robotics and embodied AI.
For founders and engineers, this live onstage session at Disrupt offers a chance to get beyond robotics headlines and see how decades of experience designing human-collaborative robots have shaped Edsinger’s approach to Stretch 4.
More than 200 sessions and 10,000+ people to meet at Disrupt
The Stretch 4 demo is one stop in three packed days at Disrupt, taking place October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. More than 10,000 founders, investors, operators, and tech leaders are expected to attend, with 200+ sessions across six industry stages, roundtables, and breakouts featuring 250+ speakers, plus 300+ exhibiting startups.
Physical AI generates plenty of headlines. At Disrupt, you can see what happens when it’s asked to do something useful. Secure your pass, hear from Aaron Edsinger, and see Hello Robot’s Stretch 4 in action in San Francisco. Save up to $200 before prices increase after September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Plus, save 50% on a second ticket.
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