Hooman Hedayati
Date:
Speaker
Hooman Hedayati is a post-doctoral researcher at Kyoto University, working on taking robots out of the laboratory and into the real world to improve human-robot interactions. His passion lies in designing algorithms and new robots that can bridge the communication gap between humans and robots. He has been fortunate to pursue this passion throughout his academic career. Prior to joining Kyoto University, Hooman Hedayati was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed his Ph.D. in 2021 at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was advised by Daniel Szafir. His dissertation research focused on understanding how robots can participate in conversational groups and how they can learn about the physical aspects of the people within the group.
Speaker Links: University Page - Google Scholar
Abstract
In Human-robot Interaction, as in any form of communication, there is always a risk of information loss. Our brains are not perfect, and we often struggle to express our thoughts in words and grasp the information conveyed by others accurately. This leads to confusion and misinterpretation. As a robot designer, I’m fascinated by the challenge of creating robots that can understand and compensate for this information loss. I invite you to join me in exploring this exciting field. During this talk, I will delve into the various algorithms and designs that have been developed to address this issue in human-robot interaction. We cannot change the way humans communicate, but we can work towards creating robots that can adapt and improve their communication skills to better understand their human counterparts. From identifying potential errors to improving overall communication, I will share with you the latest advancements in this field.