The Rise of Personal Robots - Kat Soriano

After watching several TED talks, I finally found myself most interested in Cynthia Breazeal’s talk, “The Rise of Personal Robots.” At the beginning of her talk, Breazeal stated that her interest with personal robots started at a young age and matured when she was in graduate school. Throughout her talk, Breazeal covered three main areas in which having a personal robot would be most beneficial to our everyday lives. These areas include communication, health, and media. Breazeal proposed that using robots to communicate with people who live far away makes the conversation more personal. In order to do this, she attached a cell phone to a “mobile robot.” This robot made hand gestures that coincided with what the speaker was saying. After conducting a survey, Breazeal found that the person who was watching the robot’s hand gestures felt more empathy, engagement and collaboration than when speaking to the person through the normal way. In addition, Breazeal found that when using a personal robot for when trying to lose and maintain a certain weight, participants were more motivated to keep their diet for longer periods of time. This was because they developed a personal relationship with the robot and were thus more motivated to keep up with their diet. Lastly, Breazeal suggested that personal robots be used more frequently in the media whelm. She proposed that video games be made interactive through the use of personal robots. Through this new technology, children are able to get a better grasp of learning, as they are able to physically interact with the game they are playing. This talk interested me the most because it is the perfect combination of innovative thinking and engineering principles. Breazeal was able to apply what she learned in creative, fun ways that are inspiring to others.

Cynthia Breazeal graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.S. degree in both electrical engineering and computer engineering. She eventually matriculated to MIT where she received an Sc.D in both electrical engineering and computer engineering again. Breazeal’s fascination with personal robots began while she was at MIT. While there, she designed a robot that was successfully able to socially interact with humans. This robot she designed, Kismet, is currently on display at the MIT Museum. In addition, Breazeal has designed robots that have won very prestigious awards. One of her designs won a spot on TIME Magazine 50 best Inventions of 2008 and another was placed on the list of “50 Best Robots Ever” in accordance to Wired Magazine. Furthermore, Breazeal gives talks about personal robots on a world stage and is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Science Channel. She is currently a professor at MIT and runs the MIT Media Laboratory. I believe that her qualifications make her out to be one of the best leaders in her field

Like Cynthia Breazeal, I would like to find myself involved in the engineering field. More specifically, I hope to work within the entertainment industry, perhaps building mechanical props for movie sets or designing theme park attraction rides. Ideally, I would love to someday become a Disney Imgaineer and become a team member in building and designing Disney attractions. Breazeal’s TED talk really inspired me to pursue a career in which I can use engineering skills in an inspiring and innovative way. I believe that working at Disney would allow me have such a career. When I leave for college in the fall, I plan to major in engineering, and perhaps minor in design to foster the aesthetic skill needed to become a Disney Imagineer. After undergraduate school, I plan to attend graduate school and eventually get a Ph.D or Sc.D. in either mechanical or electrical engineering. If I still feel passionately about becoming an Imagineer throughout my college years, it may be in my best interest to apply for an internship at Disney over the summer. Disney offers undergraduates the opportunity to work within its theme parks along with experienced professionals. This way, I get hands-on experience in a field I will be studying and within the company I hope to someday join.