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, 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, Chatila discusses his early interest in scientific research and outlines his research and accomplishments throughout his career, such as his involvement with the development of SLAM and with CNRS. Additionally, he explores the difficulties that the field presented him, as well as his unique insights into the issues of robotics. He reflects on the future challenges of the field, and provides advice to young people interested in the field of robotics.
In this interview, Kaneko outlines his progression throughout robotics and his contributions to various projects, such as the walking robot and the multi-fingered hand. He discusses his experiments with the hand, and the influences drawn upon by his work. Finally, he provides insight into the future direction of his research, and comments on the future applications of robotics.
In this interview, Atkeson talks about his research projects, how he became involved with robotics, his collaboration with international partners, and mentoring students. Atkeson concludes this interview by giving advice not only for students interested in the robotics field but also for other students who are still deciding their future.
