One Cornell College classroom is taking on a whole new look to assist with a Cornell Summer Research Institute project that involves robots.
TJ Robison ’17, Jordan Proby ’19, and Jeffrey Klow ’17 flipped tables on their sides to create make-shift walls for tiny arenas within the classroom. They filled those with boxes, balls, and books.
“We are starting a user study. We set up these arenas where it’s full of cardboard boxes and random clutter, and we have people navigate the robot in the arenas and try to find two balls,” Proby said.
The interaction between humans and machines–especially related to privacy–has been at the center of Professor Ross Sowell’s research for years.
“Part of my work is designing surveys and experiments to try to get a grip on how people feel about privacy and what their concerns are in the context of robotics,” Professor Sowell said. “Then, to try to use that information to build privacy-conscious robotic systems.”
To help with that goal, students are programming filters that alter the image seen through the robot’s camera. They’re trying to determine if that impacts people’s abilities to navigate the robot and complete tasks.
“We think that there’s a sweet spot between the utility and privacy,” Klow said. “So, we create these filters, we remove some detail, and we only show people what we want them to see. But, are they still able to complete their task in the first place?”
These students know this project is a glimpse to a possible future where the use of robots would be commonplace.
Watch their video story to learn more: