Towards Open World Robot Safety
Abstract: Robot safety is a nuanced concept. We commonly equate safety with collision-avoidance, but in complex, real-world environments (i.e., the “open world’’) it can be much more: for example, a mobile manipulator should understand when it is not confident about a requested task, that areas roped off by caution tape should never be breached, and [...]
Controllable Visual Imagination
Abstract: Generative models have empowered human creators to visualize their imaginations without artistic skills and labor. A prominent example is large-scale text-to-image generation models. However, these models often are difficult to control and do not respect 3D perspective geometry and temporal consistency of videos. In this talk, I will showcase several of our recent efforts to [...]
Low-Cost Multimodal Sensing and Dexterity for Deformable Object Manipulation
Abstract: To integrate robots seamlessly into daily life, they must be able to handle a variety of tasks in diverse environments, like cooking in restaurants or tidying up around the house. Many of the items in these environments are deformable such as fruits or bed sheets and a certain level of dexterity is necessary to [...]
RI Seminar with Alfred Rizzi
Unfamiliar Intelligence: Art, AI, and Robots
Abstract: Shortly after the 1918 pandemic, the word "robot" was coined in a play about mechanical workers organizing a rebellion to defeat their human overlords. A century later, emerging advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics, fueled by venture capital and governments, are disrupting labor, trade, and political stability. Claims about “superintelligence” and existential threats to [...]
RI Seminar with Nima Fazeli
RI Seminar with Nikolay Atanasov
Physical Intelligence and Cognitive Biases Toward AI
Abstract: When will robots be able to clean my house, dishes, and take care of laundry? While we source labor primarily from automated machines in factories, the penetration of physical robots in our daily lives has been slow. What are the challenges in realizing these intelligent machines capable of human level skill? Isn’t AI advanced [...]
RI Seminar with Charlie Kemp
Robotics Institute Picnic
Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for the 2025 Robotics Institute Picnic! More information and RSVP e-vite to follow as we get closer to the event.