Living Better with Robots

From Anita Borg Institute Wiki

Presenter: Cynthia Breazeal (MIT) The emerging field of Human-Robot Interaction is undergoing rapid growth, motivated by important societal challenges and new applications for robotic technologies for the general public. In this talk, I present five projects currently under development in the Robotic Life Group at the Media Lab. Two projects explore “invisible robot” applications where we have integrated robotic technologies into everyday artifacts like clothing or desktop computers, and the rest focus on more anthropomorphic social robots and interactive game characters. These projects are motivated by the promise of social robotics and related technologies to play a beneficial role in the daily lives of people. An important goal of this work is to leverage scientific understanding of human brains, bodies, and behavior to design robotic technologies that can enhance human performance, learning, communication, and quality of life. Specific applications in eldercare, health, education, and social networking will be highlighted.