Saturday Engineering for Everyone is an open and free lecture series aimed at non-engineers of all backgrounds who are interested in learning about engineering topics.
Professor Katie Driggs-Campbell will join us on Saturday, April 9th at 2:00 pm to discuss the nuances of robots and how to interact with them. Robots are becoming prevalent in our everyday lives and are changing the foundations of our way of life, with applications ranging from autonomous vehicles to agricultural and even personal robots. However, robots still face one major hurdle: understanding human beings. People are able to intuitively accomplish all kinds of interactive tasks (e.g., maneuver through crowds, build LEGO sets as a team). Robots, on the other hand, need to be taught this kind of intuition and social graces to be effective. In this talk, we'll discuss what it means to be a robot, the different components that go into making a robot move, and some of the challenges these robots face when interacting with people (as well as the challenges that people face too!). We'll also present state-of-the-art tools and algorithms that make robots capable of performing all kinds of tasks, like assembling computer parts with a co-worker and helping around the house. No registration necessary.