ROBOTS IN THE REAL WORLD
WORKING WITH HUMANS
Our research teams are working to solve today’s pressing challenges in key areas including healthcare and autonomous vehicles.
Long term, we aim to develop robots that serve society in real-time, in the real world. These robotic systems will adapt, evolve, and create their own solutions based on the people and situations – the context – they encounter. And they’ll need to be secure.
To deliver, we are tackling fundamental research bottlenecks that will open up new capabilities for robots. Autonomous operation in many different environments is just one example.
Our plans require new approaches to research. New paradigms. We’ve aligned world-class expertise in hardware, software, cognitive science, design, machine learning, materials, security, and more, to make it happen.
Join us.
Robotics News

Human-centered mobility and transportation options for disadvantaged communities is the goal of new partnership
February 24, 2021
The University of California San Diego is teaming up with several community-based organizations and the San Diego Association of Governments to improve access to transportation for the county’s low-income and underserved neighborhoods. The team is adopting a human-centered design approach to their work to try and repair the harm done by car-oriented transportation policies of the past. Full Story

This robot doesn't need any electronics
February 17, 2021
Engineers at the University of California San Diego have created a four-legged soft robot that doesn’t need any electronics to work. The robot only needs a constant source of pressurized air for all its functions, including its controls and locomotion systems. The team, led by Michael T. Tolley, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego, details its findings in the Feb. 17, 2021 issue of the journal Science Robotics. Full Story

IROS 2020: Autonomous mail delivery, robots practicing bartending, and more
November 5, 2020
From autonomous vehicles to robots practicing bartending and insect-like robots, engineers at the University of California San Diego are showcasing a broad range of pacers at IROS 2020, which is being held virtually from Oct. 25 to Nov. 25. Full Story
Seminars
(All Seminars)
Location: Atkinson Hall Auditorium
Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
"Abstractions in Robot Planning"
https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/97197176606
Neil T. Dantam, Colorado School of Mines
"Probabilistic Robotics and Autonomous Driving"
https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/97197176606
Wolfram Burgard, Toyota Research Institute
"Learning Adaptive Models for Human-Robot Teaming"
Atkinson Hall 4004/4006
Howard Thomas - University of Rochester