The field of robotics is gaining more attention than ever before, especially when combined with artificial intelligence. At the recent "Tech Crunch Sessions: Robotics" event, technologists showcased off the latest advancements. Mark Niu has more from California. 

At the University of California, Berkeley, this TechCrunch Robotics event gave us a glimpse of the future.

This is Boston Dynamics's dog-like robot called SpotMini. No price yet, but the company plans to start selling it commercially next year.

University of California Los Angeles researchers unveiled early prototypes of robots that are taking on the problem of walking something not easily mastered.

The robot NABi solves this by walking sideways.

"There are no sensors on it!"

UCLA's new robot ALPHRED has four limbs, which can also be used to manipulate objects.

PROFESSOR DENNIS HONG ROBOTICS & MECHANISMS LABORATORY, UCLA "The true science fiction, the Jetsons, C3PO's from Star Wars robots, 20 years, 30 years, maybe more. It might sound a little weird for a roboticist to say, but I think the general public's expectations are just way too high."

This University of California-Berkeley-designed gripping robot picks objects at half the speed of a human.

But researchers say its gotten twice as fast in the past year and believe it can exceed humans in a couple more.

MARK NIU BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA "As Artificial Intelligence and automation continue to advance, we are going to see more robots in our lives, like Penny, the server robot from Bear Robotics. But many are also concerned about what will happen to human jobs."

A number of tech leaders like Telsa CEO Elon Musk have called for a universal basic income because of all the jobs automation is likely to wipe out.

MARK NIU BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA "Is it inevitable that robots will replace human jobs?"

KEN GOLDBERG INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, UC BERKELEY "No, I don't think so. In fact, I think we're actually going to have a shortage of human workers in the future because of the demographics. Many workers are leaving the workforce because they are aging. And we don't have enough new workers coming in. It's able to do some things better than humans, but there are many things where humans are going to be necessary."

JEFF BURNSTEIN, PRESIDENT ASSOCIATION FOR ADVANCING AUTOMATION "We've looked at this over a 20-year period. Every time in the U.S. when robot sales go up, unemployment goes down, and when robot sales go down, unemployment goes up. I think that doesn't sound like a job killer to me. And it's because the real threat to employment is when companies can no longer compete."

But without question, some robotic devices unveiled here will improve the quality of human life.

SuitX showed its new robotic exoskeleton that aims to cut the price of technology that can help the paralyzed walk.

"That's amazing."

Mark Niu, CGTN, Berkeley, California.