Robots: Online Human-Robot Interactions

Posted 7 Jun 2010 at 21:20 UTC by mwaibel

In its latest episode, the Robots podcast interviews Sonia Chernova at the Personal Robots Group at MIT's Media Lab. Chernova is using a free, online game called Mars Escape to learn about how humans and robots can work in teams. As you log into the game, you are teamed up with a second human player, with one person taking on the role of an astronaut, and the other one controlling a Nexi robot. You and your astronaut (or robot) partner then find yourselves on a mission on Mars, where you will have to brave various challenges. This episode's second guest is Kenton Williams, also from the Media Lab. In the interview, Williams shares some of the technical aspects behind one of the Media Lab's most expressive robots, the MDS robot Nexi. Play the game, read on, or tune in!