We are at the cusp of a revolution in robotic technology that will fundamentally change how we live and work. Hospital robots will check on patients and report their status to nurses, saving time and improving patient outcomes. Childcare robots will help parents with chores such as assisting at diaper changing or feeding, so that families can spend high-quality time together. Manufacturing robots will collaborate with people to assemble complex objects on reconfigurable assembly lines, increasing the efficiency and flexibility of factory floors. The robotic revolution will approach and surpass the ubiquity and usefulness of the computer revolution, because robots can change not only the virtual world, but the physical world as well. The aim of our research program is to create robots that collaborate with people to meet their needs, so that human-robot collaboration approaches the ease of human-human collaboration. To create collaborative robots, we focus on three key challenges: 1) perceiving the world using the robot’s sensors; 2) communicating with people to understand their needs and how to meet them; and 3) acting to change the world in ways that meet people’s needs.