Gerd Hirzinger

An Interview Conducted by Peter Asaro, IEEE History Center, 12 November 2010 Interview # 665 for Indiana University and the IEEE History Center, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

In this interview, Daniel Lee discusses his career in robotics, focusing on his research at Bell Labs and UPenn’s GRASP Lab. Describing his work on machine learning algorithms and in robotics projects, such as the robot dog and the DARPA Urban Challenge, he comments on the challenges of the field and his research. Reflecting on the evolution of the GRASP Lab and of the field of robotics, he comments on its potential and future.

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, Fong discusses his involvement in and contributions to the field of robotics. He recounts his time at MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and NASA Ames, and the research work and projects he completed. He reviews his various robotics collaborations, his involvement with Fourth Planet, Inc. and as director of the robotics group, and his contributions to virtual reality interfaces and Human-Robot Interaction research. Additionally, he reflects on the evolution and challenges of robotics and provides advice to young people interested in the field.

Radhika Nagpal is the Fred Kavli Professor of Computer Science, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University.