Cynthia Breazeal
Encyclopedia
Cynthia Lynn Breazeal is an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, where she is the director of the Personal Robots Group (formerly the Robotic Life Group) at the MIT Media Laboratory. She is best known for her work in robotics where she is recognized as a pioneer of Social Robotics and Human Robot Interaction.
in 1989, her S.M. in 1993 and her Sc.D. in 2000 in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, both from MIT.
She developed the robot Kismet
as a doctoral thesis looking into expressive social exchange between humans and humanoid robot
s. Kismet is internationally recognized, and is one of the best known robots developed to explore social and emotional aspects of human-robot interaction. Now you can see Kismet at the MIT Museum where you can find some of the other robots Breazeal co-developed while a graduate student at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab. Notable examples include the upper torso humanoid robot Cog and the insect-like robot Hannibal.
At the Media Lab, Breazeal continues to work on social interaction and socially situated learning between people and robot
s. Leonardo is another globally recognized robot (co-developed with Stan Winston Studio) that was developed as a successor to Kismet (recognized in 2006 by Wired Magazine as one of the "50 Best Robots Ever"). Leonardo was also used to investigate social cognition and Theory of Mind abilities on robots with application to human-robot collaboration, in addition to developing social learning abilities for robots such as imitation, tutelage, and social referencing. Nexi is the most recent robot in this tradition (awarded a TIME Magazine 50 Best Inventions of 2008). Nexi is a MDS robot (Mobile, Dexterous, Social) that combines rich social communication abilities with mobile dexterity to investigate more complex forms of human-robot teaming.
Other social robots developed in Breazeal's Personal Robots Group include Autom, a robot diet and exercise coach (the PhD thesis of Cory Kidd). It was found to be more effective than a computer counterpart in sustaining engagement and building trust and a working alliance with users. Autom is in the process of being commercialized (see Intuitive Automata). Breazeal's group has also explored expressive remote presence robots (for example, MeBot and Huggable). The physical social embodiment of the MeBot was found to elicit greater psychological involvement, engagement, and desire to cooperate over purely screen based video conferencing or a mobile screen.
Breazeal's Personal Robots Group has also done a number of design projects. See Cyberflora
that was exhibited at the 2003 National Design Triennial at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Breazeal is recognized as a designer and innovator on the national and global stage. She received the Gilbreth Lectures Award by the National Academy of Engineering in 2008. She has spoken at a number of prominent global events including the World Science Festival, the World Economic Forum, and TEDWomen. Breazeal is a featured scientist in the Women's Adventures in Science series (sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences). In 2003, Breazeal was recognized as a Finalist in the National Design Awards in Communication at the White House.
She is an Overseer at the Museum of Science in Boston, and she is on the Board of Advisors of the Science Channel.
She also has a prominent role as a virtual participant in a popular exhibit on robots with the traveling exhibit, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
, interacting with a real C-3PO
(voiced by Anthony Daniels
as she spoke to the audience through a pre-recorded message displayed on a large plasma flat-screen display.
In 2003, she was named to the MIT
Technology Review
TR100
as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, where she is the director of the Personal Robots Group (formerly the Robotic Life Group) at the MIT Media Laboratory. She is best known for her work in robotics where she is recognized as a pioneer of Social Robotics and Human Robot Interaction.
Biography
Cynthia Breazeal received her B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
in 1989, her S.M. in 1993 and her Sc.D. in 2000 in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, both from MIT.
She developed the robot Kismet
Kismet (robot)
Kismet is a robot made in the late 1990s at Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Dr. Cynthia Breazeal. The robot's auditory, visual and expressive systems were intended to allow it to participate in human social interaction and to demonstrate simulated human emotion and appearance...
as a doctoral thesis looking into expressive social exchange between humans and humanoid robot
Humanoid robot
A humanoid robot or an anthropomorphic robot is a robot with its overall appearance, based on that of the human body, allowing interaction with made-for-human tools or environments. In general humanoid robots have a torso with a head, two arms and two legs, although some forms of humanoid robots...
s. Kismet is internationally recognized, and is one of the best known robots developed to explore social and emotional aspects of human-robot interaction. Now you can see Kismet at the MIT Museum where you can find some of the other robots Breazeal co-developed while a graduate student at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Lab. Notable examples include the upper torso humanoid robot Cog and the insect-like robot Hannibal.
At the Media Lab, Breazeal continues to work on social interaction and socially situated learning between people and robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s. Leonardo is another globally recognized robot (co-developed with Stan Winston Studio) that was developed as a successor to Kismet (recognized in 2006 by Wired Magazine as one of the "50 Best Robots Ever"). Leonardo was also used to investigate social cognition and Theory of Mind abilities on robots with application to human-robot collaboration, in addition to developing social learning abilities for robots such as imitation, tutelage, and social referencing. Nexi is the most recent robot in this tradition (awarded a TIME Magazine 50 Best Inventions of 2008). Nexi is a MDS robot (Mobile, Dexterous, Social) that combines rich social communication abilities with mobile dexterity to investigate more complex forms of human-robot teaming.
Other social robots developed in Breazeal's Personal Robots Group include Autom, a robot diet and exercise coach (the PhD thesis of Cory Kidd). It was found to be more effective than a computer counterpart in sustaining engagement and building trust and a working alliance with users. Autom is in the process of being commercialized (see Intuitive Automata). Breazeal's group has also explored expressive remote presence robots (for example, MeBot and Huggable). The physical social embodiment of the MeBot was found to elicit greater psychological involvement, engagement, and desire to cooperate over purely screen based video conferencing or a mobile screen.
Breazeal's Personal Robots Group has also done a number of design projects. See Cyberflora
Cyberflora
The Cyberflora project is a project developed by the Media Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The project is part of the Anima Machina program at MIT - a program that was developed by Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences and Director of the Robotic Life Group Cynthia Breazeal...
that was exhibited at the 2003 National Design Triennial at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
Breazeal is recognized as a designer and innovator on the national and global stage. She received the Gilbreth Lectures Award by the National Academy of Engineering in 2008. She has spoken at a number of prominent global events including the World Science Festival, the World Economic Forum, and TEDWomen. Breazeal is a featured scientist in the Women's Adventures in Science series (sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences). In 2003, Breazeal was recognized as a Finalist in the National Design Awards in Communication at the White House.
She is an Overseer at the Museum of Science in Boston, and she is on the Board of Advisors of the Science Channel.
She also has a prominent role as a virtual participant in a popular exhibit on robots with the traveling exhibit, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination is a traveling exhibition created by the Museum of Science, Boston, featuring props and costumes used in the Star Wars films, but focusing primarily on the science behind George Lucas' science fiction-fantasy epic...
, interacting with a real C-3PO
C-3PO
C-3PO is a robot character from the Star Wars universe who appears in both the original Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy. He is also a major character in the television show Droids, and appears frequently in the series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books, and video games...
(voiced by Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels
Anthony Daniels is an English actor. He is best known for his role as the droid C-3PO in the Star Wars series of films made between 1977 and 2005.-Early life:...
as she spoke to the audience through a pre-recorded message displayed on a large plasma flat-screen display.
In 2003, she was named to the MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
Technology Review
Technology Review
Technology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was founded in 1899 as "The Technology Review", and was re-launched without the "The" in its name on April 23, 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey...
TR100
TR35
The TR35 is an annual list published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world's top 35 innovators under the age of 35.Some of the most famous winners of the award include Larry Page and Sergey Brin , Linus Torvalds , Jerry Yang , Jonathan Ive , Mark Zuckerberg...
as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35.
External links
- Home page
- Personal Robots Group MIT Media Lab.
- Association for Computing MachineryAssociation for Computing MachineryThe Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
Video Interviews with Cynthia Breazeal - "Profile: Cynthia Breazeal", PBS NOVA scienceNOWNOVA scienceNOWNOVA scienceNOW is a newsmagazine version of the long running and venerable PBS science program Nova. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, who described it as an experiment in coverage of "breaking science, science that's right out of the lab, science...
TV series, November 21, 2006. - iWASwondering.org - National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
sponsored website. Cynthia Breazeal featured on kids Website encouraging young people to pursue science. - "A Conversation with Cynthia Breazeal", Scientific American FrontiersScientific American FrontiersScientific American Frontiers was an American television program primarily focused on informing the public about new technologies and discoveries in science and medicine. It was a companion program to the Scientific American magazine. The show was produced for PBS in the U.S...
, PBS TV program, March 1, 2005. - "50 Best Robots Ever", Wired Magazine, January 2006.
- "50 Best Inventions of 2008", TIME Magazine, 2008.
- "The Rise Of Personal Robots", TedWomen, December 2010.