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.
Rüdiger Dillmann received his Ph. D. from University of Karlsruhe in 1980. Since 1987 he has been Professor of the Department of Computer Science and is Director of the Research Lab Humanoids and Intelligence Systems at KIT.
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, Arkin discusses how he became interested in robotics, his early work with robot navigation, his volunteer positions within the IEEE, and his most popular research on robot ethics. Not only does Arkin outline the applications of robot ethics and robot deception, he also describes the funding of his research and its coverage by the media.
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.
In this interview, Asada discusses his interest in with robots and robotic interactions. He outlines his research in image processing as it relates to robotics and automation, as well as on robotic behaviors, robot-environment and robot-human interactions, and machine learning. He reflects on his involvement with the development of the RoboCup program, and on his own accomplishments and those of his previous students. Additionally, he reflects on future research endeavors and the future potential of the field of robotics, and provides advice for those who wish to pursue it.
