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From left to proper: Joyce Sidopoulos, co-founder at MassRobotics, Cynthia Breazeal, a professor of media arts and sciences at MIT, and Ingmar Posner, a professor of engineering science at Oxford. | Supply: MassRobotics
MassRobotics, a robotics innovation group, lately introduced Dr. Cynthia Breazeal because the 2024 recipient of its Robotics Medal. The group mentioned Breazeal received for her vital contributions to the sphere of robotics, notably for her work within the discipline of social robotics and human-robot interplay. The award is sponsored by Amazon Robotics. The award features a $50,000 prize.
With the Robotics Medal, MassRobotics seeks to not solely have a good time particular person achievements, but additionally to encourage and encourage ladies and different underrepresented teams to take part in shaping the way forward for the world via robotics.
Breazeal is at present a professor of media arts and sciences on the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how, the place she based and directs the Private Robots group on the Media Lab. She can also be the MIT dean for digital studying, the place she leads Open Studying’s enterprise and analysis and engagement items.
A historical past with social robots
Breazeal work at MIT, nonetheless, is actually simply the tip of the iceberg on the subject of her accomplishments. She is a pioneer of social robotics and human-robot interplay. Her work balances technical innovation in AI, consumer expertise (UX) design, and understanding the psychology of engagement to design personified AI applied sciences that promote human flourishing and private progress.
In 2012, Breazeal based Jibo, a social robotics firm named after its flagship product. Jibo may see with two hi-res cameras, which allowed it to acknowledge and observe faces, take footage, and allow video calling.
Regardless of elevating practically $72 million in enterprise capital and elevating greater than $3.5 million in a 2014 Indiegogo crowdfunding marketing campaign, the corporate shut down in 2018.
Breazeal’s newer work focuses on the thought of “dwelling with AI” and understanding the long-term potential for social robots to construct relationships and supply customized assist as companions in day by day life. Her analysis group actively investigates social robots utilized to schooling, pediatrics, well being and wellness, and getting older.
“I actually simply see myself as this yr’s consultant of all of the superb ladies. It’s a mixture of their brilliance and their originality, but additionally their humanity and in so some ways their deep sense of service that they carry to their work,” Breazeal informed The Robotic Report. “I’m thrilled to be this yr’s consultant, however I actually do see myself as simply part of a world of unbelievable ladies.”
Editor’s observe: There will likely be a ticketed Ladies in Robotics luncheon as a part of RoboBusiness 2024 this week in Santa Clara, Calif.
Breazeal sees award as a name to service
Not solely is there nonetheless a gender hole inside robotics, however Breazeal mentioned there’s additionally a visibility hole for the ladies already throughout the business. There are lots of trailblazing ladies in robotics, she mentioned, however they’re typically not chosen to keynote occasions or regarded as the face of robotics.
“If you’re a girl on this discipline, it’s a must to acknowledge there are such a lot of superb ladies doing unbelievable work,” Breazeal mentioned. “And I actually do applaud this specific award, as a result of I do really feel so lots of the ladies within the discipline, we may be very outstanding, however in quite a lot of methods we’re sort of the best-kept secret.”
Whereas the award is an honor, Breazeal mentioned that she additionally sees it as a name to service. This implies utilizing her place to raise different ladies and different individuals from underrepresented teams within the business.
“How can I take into consideration this award by way of service to my group and to the world?” Breazeal requested.
She additionally famous that she wouldn’t be the place she is with out the fantastic individuals she has labored with all through her profession, together with the scholars she teaches and mentors at MIT.
“MIT is a world-class analysis college,” Breazeal mentioned. “The work that you simply see is the product of sensible college students. You give them these alternatives to immerse themselves in these questions.”
“So, not solely are we creating these superb robotic methods, however we’re additionally serving to to foster, and nurture, unbelievable, sensible younger expertise who’ve come out of this program,” she mentioned.
A validating second for the social robotics discipline
Along with being a milestone in her profession, Breazeal mentioned she additionally sees the award as a validating second for your complete discipline of social robotics, which has now existed for 25 years. As a pioneer within the discipline, Breazeal noticed firsthand the numerous detractors when the expertise was in its early levels.
“It’s sort of an atypical lens on robots,” Breazeal mentioned. “No person was actually considering deeply about what it will imply for anybody, on a regular basis individuals, to really work together with robots. I imply, after all, we had science fiction and all these visions and so forth. However individuals weren’t actually interested by anybody past the non-expert having the ability to have worth, or the non-commercial actually having the ability to have worth from this autonomous robotic expertise.”
She acknowledged that new concepts at all times draw skepticism, and the social robots had some big-name detractors early on. Breazeal recalled her work on Kismet, which some observers have known as the primary social robotic, for her doctoral work on the MIT AI Lab within the late Nineties. On the time, she mentioned, there have been some individuals business who doubted the advantages of “having a robotic that might smile,” as they put it.
Kismet didn’t resemble the lovable, approachable type components which might be typically related to social robots, but it surely may enter into social-emotional interactions with a human caregiver, harking back to parent-infant exchanges. These extra pure interactions could possibly be used to bootstrap the social-emotional-cognitive improvement of social robots, defined Breazeal.
She mentioned knew that these detractors merely didn’t perceive what she was making an attempt to do. Fortuitously, Breazeal had assist from sufficient of the group to maintain going.
“As soon as we sort of obtained previous these first friction factors and began getting this nascent group collectively, it simply turned more and more apparent that, after all, that is necessary,” Breazeal mentioned.
“It’s so extremely rewarding that somebody in social robotics acquired this honor,” she continued. “It simply made the purpose that this discipline of human-robot interplay, social robotics, has change into such an necessary a part of the general discipline of robotics.”
