Socially Cognizant Robotics Certificate Program
Emerging applications of robotics are certain to bring significant changes in individuals' lives and profound social impacts, including the future workforce of the nation. The traditional objective of robotics research has been to provide automated platforms that operate at high-speed, accurately and consistently, such as in the context of manufacturing systems. As robots are being deployed in a wider variety of domains, it becomes important to consider other aspects, such as safety, adaptability to human desires, ethical considerations, and societal impacts. Key questions are: What are the societal impacts of robotic technology? How can these impacts be predicted and evaluated in order to influence next-generation technology? How can robotics be developed in a socially cognizant manner? While the potential of robotics is often postulated, the realization of ubiquitous robot assistants augmenting an individual's productivity and quality of life has not been realized.
The Certificate in Socially Cognizant Robotics creates a new vehicle for graduate training and research that integrates the technology domains of robotics, machine learning and computer vision, with social and behavioral sciences (psychology, cognitive science and urban policy planning).
The Certificate program was created under the NSF National Research Traineeship NRT entitled “Socially Cognizant Robotics for a Technology Enhanced Society” (SOCRATES).