TITLE: Toward Smart Autonomy for Interactive Robotic Systems

ABSTRACT:

Robotics is undergoing an exciting transition from factory automation to the deployment of autonomous systems in less structured environments, such as warehouses, hospitals, and homes. One of the critical barriers to the wider adoption of autonomous robotic systems in the wild is the challenge of achieving reliable autonomy. In this talk, I will discuss ways in which innovations in learning from demonstration and remote access technologies can aid the deployment of autonomous robots. I will present applications of this research paradigm to robot learning, object manipulation, and semantic reasoning, as well as explore some exciting avenues for future research in this area.

BIO:

Sonia Chernova is an associate professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech, where she directs the Robot Autonomy and Interactive Learning research lab.  Her research spans semantic reasoning, human-robot interaction, interactive machine learning, and cloud robotics, with the focus on developing robots that are able to effectively operate in human environments. She is the recipient of the NSF CAREER, ONR Young Investigator, and NASA Early Career Faculty awards.