Maja J. Mataric
Professor of Computer Science and Neuroscience
Director, Center for Robotics and Embedded Systems (CRES)
Co-Director, Robotics Research Lab
Research Topics
- Assistive Human-Robot Interaction
- Learning through Interaction, Imitation, and Demonstration
- Multi-Robot Coordination & Learning
- Activity Modeling
- Humanoid Robot Control & Learning
Research Overview
My research is aimed at endowing robots with the ability to help people. I am inspired by the dual goals of gaining novel insights into human-machine interaction and developing robotic systems capable of providing personalized assistance individualy (in convalescence, rehabilitation, training, education) or in teams (in habitat monitoring and emergency response). My Interaction Lab focuses on socially assistive or assistive interactive robotics, systems capable of aiding people through social interaction rather than through physical contact. Our research involves intelligent human-robot interaction, control and learning in complex, dynamic, and uncertain environments by integrating on-line perception, representation, and interaction with people. To address the inherently multidisciplinary challenges of this research area, our work draws on theories, models, and collaborations from neuroscience, cognitive science, social science, health, and education.Because of our focus on real-time assistive human-robot interaction, my group's research efforts are brought together under the behavior-based methodology, using the notion of composable basis behaviors or primitives as building blocks for structuring complex systems and reducing the dimensionality of the associated control and learning problems. In all projects, we evaluate our models and methodologies on complex embodied agents and robots and faithful simulations, using rigorous experimental design and statistical evaluation.
Contact Information
- Web Sites:
- Main Page
Research Lab
Assistive Robotics Research - E-mail:
- mataric@usc.edu
- Mailing Address:
- Henry Salvatori, Mailcode 0781
941 West 37th Place
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0781 USA - Office Location:
- Ronald Tutor Hall (RTH) 407
- Office Phone:
- (213) 740-4520
- Lab Phone:
- (213) 740-6245
- Fax:
- (213) 821-5696
Education
- Ph.D., Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, MIT, 1994
Research Images
Selected Publications
View a complete Google Scholar search
Mataric' MJ, Scassellati B, and Tapus A. (2007) The GrandChallenges in Socially Assistive Robotics. IEEE Roboticsand Automation Magazine, 14(1)
Mataric' MJ, Eriksson J, Feil-Seifer DJ, Winstein CJ. (2007) Socially Assistive Robotics for Post-Stroke Rehabilitation. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 4(5) -PubMed
Tapus A, Tapus C, and Mataric' MJ. (2007) User-RobotPersonality Matching and Assistive Robot Behavior Adaptation forPost-Stroke Rehabilitation Therapy. In submission IEEE Transactions onRobotics.
Gockley R, and Mataric' MJ. (2006) Encouraging Physical TherapyCompliance with a Hands-Off Mobile Robot. 1st AnnualConference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI-06) Mar2-3, 150-155. -Link
Kang KI, Freedman S, Mataric' MJ, Cunningham MJ, and Lopez B. (2005) A Hands-Off Physical Therapy Assistance Robot forCardiac Patients. International Conference onRehabilitation Robotics, Jun 28-Jul 1. 337-340 -Link
Eriksson J, Mataric' MJ, and Winstein C (2005) Hands-OffAssistive Robotics for Post-Stroke Arm Rehabilitation. IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR-05), Jun 28-Jun 1, 21-24 -Link
Feil-Seifer D, and Mataric' MJ (2005) Defining Socially Assistive Robotics. IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics(ICORR-05) Jun 28-Jun 1, 465-468. -Link
Mataric' MJ (2006) Socially Assistive Robotics. IEEE IntelligentSystems. -Link
Mataric' MJ, Pomplun M. (1998) Fixation Behavior in Observationand Imitation of Human Movement. Cognitive Brain Research, 7(2), 191-202. -PubMed -Link
Mataric' MJ, Nicolescu M. (2005) Task Learning Through Imitationand Human-Robot Interaction. Models and Mechanisms of Imitationand Social Learning in Robots, Humans and Animals: Behavioural, Socialand Communicative Dimensions, Kerstin Dautenhahn and ChrystopherNehaniv -Link