Richard D. (Dick) Klafter, one of the early leaders in the field of robotics and automation and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, was born on 5 August 1936 and died 11 November 2019. He received an undergraduate degree at MIT, two graduate degrees from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the City University of New York (1969).
In this interview, Carlisle outlines his career achievements and contributions to the field of robotics, including his involvement with Vicarm and Unimation, and the creation of Adept Technology and Precise Automation. Reflecting on the business standards of the robotics industry, he discusses the change in robotics over the years, as well as the field’s future challenges and developments.
In this interview, Hagita discusses his work in robotics, with a focus on human-robot interaction, agent systems and networked robots, visual perception, and pattern recognition and learning. He recounts his robotics work at various research laboratories, such as Steven Palmer's lab at UC Berkeley, and his time and contributions at NTT and ATR. He reflects on the influences and successes of his career, his involvement in creating the IRC and Media Information Lab at ATR, and the collaborations on various projects (such as Robovie and RFID tags). Additionally he comments on the evolution and difficulties of robotics, and provides advice to young people interested in the field.
In this interview, Illah Nourbakhsh discusses his work in robotics, focusing on artificial intelligence and planning, and the challenges and future of the field. Describing his involvement in projects, such as the Book Store Project and the automated highway system project, he outlines the state of robotics at Stanford, the start of his company (Blue Pumpkin Software), and his arrival and work at Carnegie Mellon. Additionally he discusses his work on educational projects, such as the Dinosaur Hall, and at NASA, and comments on the potential for robotics in education and space exploration.
In this interview, Rolf Pfeifer discusses his work in robotics, focusing on artificial intelligence and locomotion. Describing the influence of human psychology and intelligence on his research, he outlines his early work with cognitive robots and AI and his later work in bio-robotics. He discusses the challenges and breakthroughs of his work and of bio-robotics as a whole, as well as the evolution of robotics throughout his career and its future applications and goals.
In this oral history, Larry Matthies covers his professional life in the field of Computer Robotics, taking us through his collegiate education and his career in robotics research, specifically his work with computer vision. Matthies offers his personal insight on the various projects he has collaborated on as well, from working for DARPA to NASA and his experience with the NASA Mars Rover project, for which he dedicated most of his career to. Matthies also touches upon his move back to academia and his thoughts on the future of the field of computer robotics.
