Ronald Arkin

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, Daniel discusses his lengthy career in the field of robotics research. He reflects on his contributions to the field through his various projects and collaborations in industry and at universities, and the founding of his company. Additionally, he discusses the evolution of the field through the years and the challenges it will face, as well as provides advice to young people interested in robotics.

In this interview, Kosecka talks about her education, evolution of her research interests, her doctoral dissertation thesis, her time as a postdoctoral researcher, collaboration with different colleagues and students, her involvement with the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and women in robotics. In addition, Kosecka gives advice to young people who are interested in a career in robotics.

In this interview, Fong discusses his involvement in and contributions to the field of robotics. He recounts his time at MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and NASA Ames, and the research work and projects he completed. He reviews his various robotics collaborations, his involvement with Fourth Planet, Inc. and as director of the robotics group, and his contributions to virtual reality interfaces and Human-Robot Interaction research. Additionally, he reflects on the evolution and challenges of robotics and provides advice to young people interested in the field.

Brian Gerkey is co-founder and CEO of Open Robotics, which drives the development and adoption of open software and hardware for robotics. Prior to Open Robotics, Brian was a postdoc in the Stanford AI Lab, a Computer Scientist in the SRI AI Center, and Director of Open Source Development at Willow Garage.