Gary Bradsky

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.

In this interview, Bob McGhee discusses his career in robotics, in particular his work on guided missiles, walking robots, and unmanned submarines. Describing his work on robotics projects, such as the phony pony and the bionic bug, he emphasizes the animal and human influence. Discussing the fallibility of robots, he describes the research and work being done at the time, as well as comments on the change in the perception of robotics and the evolution of the field.

In this interview, Caplan discusses his lengthy career in the field of robotics. He recounts his contributions to the industry, and his involvement with the NSF, IARP, and IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. He reflects on the evolution of US robotics research, and the challenges and successes roboticists face. Additionally, he provides advice to young people interested in the field, stressing the importance of passion, education, and collaboration.

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.

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 oral history, Larry Matthies covers his professional life in the field of Computer Robotics, taking us through his collegiate education and his career in robotics research, specifically his work with computer vision. Matthies offers his personal insight on the various projects he has collaborated on as well, from working for DARPA to NASA and his experience with the NASA Mars Rover project, for which he dedicated most of his career to. Matthies also touches upon his move back to academia and his thoughts on the future of the field of computer robotics.