Living and Working With Robots

 

The widespread use of service robots has been predicted to be “just around the corner” for decades. 
This project seeks to overcome the prevailing technical and social hurdles to deploying these robots by building and studying them in communities where they will be used rather than just in laboratories and warehouses. The team will begin its work designing robots for use on UT Austin’s campus in university libraries and other facilities. The goal is to design these robots in a way that upholds human values, does not cause unintentional harm, and improves campus quality of life and productivity. With these elements in place, this project will help create a new model for human-machine partnerships.
 

Team Members

Elliott Hauser
School of Information
Adam Klivans
Computer Science
Luis Sentis
Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Samantha Shorey
Communication Studies
Keri Stephens
Communication Studies
Roberto Martin-Martin
Computer Science

News

selfie with a robot
Feb. 9, 2023
Can Robots and Humans Coexist?
Austin, Texas — When the four-legged robots walk around the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, all the attention is on them. They are part of a groundbreaking science and social experiment from the school's robotics program.
Texas Monthly; The University of Texas at Austin campus: Eric Gay/AP; Robot dog: The University of Texas at Austin
Oct. 27, 2022
It’s Okay to Fear the Robot Dogs Coming to UT
Scientists are unleashing the computerized canines on the Austin campus to study how humans interact with them.
Robot
Oct. 27, 2022
Robot Dogs to Roam Campus as part of a UT Research Project
While some students have seen the albino squirrels around campus, all students will have the opportunity to see robot dogs on the Forty Acres in the upcoming years.
Sport Robot by Boston Dynamics
Oct. 27, 2022
New dog-like delivery robots coming to University of Texas campus
As part of a five-year study, UT researchers will have the robots delivering sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer on campus to observe human-robot interactions.
UT Robotics lab
Oct. 20, 2022
UT researcher talks about the future of robot and human interactions
Researchers from the University of Texas recently received grant funding to set up a delivery robotic network on campus– the robots will start being deployed around UT campus in early 2023. They don’t stop there.
Robot dog
Oct. 18, 2022
Robots will soon be among students at the University of Texas
These autonomous robots will rove the buildings and streets of UT next fall. The purpose of them is to help researchers understand and improve the experience of pedestrians when they encounter them.
Sport Robot by Boston Dynamics
Oct. 17, 2022
Can Robots and Humans Co-exist in Public? UT Campus Study Will Offer Answers
A new grant to an interdisciplinary team of researchers at UT Austin will support the creation of a robot delivery network on campus, with the first deployments scheduled for early 2023.
Three men stand around a robot on wheels in a robotic labs on the University of Texas at Austin campus.
Nov. 8, 2021
Bringing Robots into the Real World: Q&A with Peter Stone and Elliott Hauser
Computer Science Professor Peter Stone and School of Information Assistant Professor Elliott Hauser share about their new Good Systems project "Living and Working with Robots" and why it's important to design robotic technology in the real world.

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