Ronald Arkin

In this interview, Choset recounts his career in robotics and his contributions to the field. He describes his early interest in motion which led him to study robotics, and his early collaborations with Ruzena Bajcsy and Joel Burdick which helped guide his career. He speaks about his research at Carnegie Mellon, especially his work on medical robots, his contribution to the development of the snake robot, and his various industrial and student collaborations, and the practical applications that arose from it. Additionally, he reflects on the evolution of the field of medical robotics, and provides advice to young people interested in the field.

In this interview, Parker discusses her early life and how she became interested in robotics and artificial intelligence. She also discusses the various projects she has worked on, her main work creating robots that can work with people, where the robot can infer what to do without human command. She also talks about the barriers young women face going into IT fields and what they can do to get into the field and succeed.

In this interview, Jean Paul Laumond discusses his movement from mathematics to robotics and his career contributions to the field, especially in regards to motion planning and anthropomorphic motion. Describing his involvement at CNRS and in other robotics projects, such as HILARE, he comments on the distinction in perception between the robotics approach and a mathematics one.

In this interview, Richard Murray discusses his career in robotics, in particular his work on manipulation and grasping, non-holonomic motion planning, and locomotion. He describes the state of robotics at CalTech and his contribution to robotics projects there, as well as the challenges of his research. Moving into work with UAV/UAS, he outlines his involvement with the Grand Challenge and his eventual involvement with bio-molecular feedback. Additionally he comments on human-robot interaction and the challenges and problems facing robotics.

In this interview, Oussama Khatib discusses his career in robotics, focusing on robot control and motion planning. Describing his work and research, he outlines his time at Stanford University and his involvement in several robotics projects, including the Stanford Robotics Platforms—Romeo and Juliet. Discussing the evolution and challenges of his work, he describes his move towards humanoid robotics and his involvement with robotics societies and activities, as well as provides advice for young people interested in a career in robotics.

In this interview, Jean-Daniel Nicoud discusses his career in robotics and at Lausanne and DIDEL. Describing the state of roboics at EPFL, he reflects on the evolution of the field and his research work. Moving from academia to form a private company (DIDEL), he outlines its motivations and influences, as well as the challenges and potential of robotics applications.