Transforming Human-Robot Interaction – Dr. Elizabeth Croft

Depictions of robots vary from the helpful humanoid to destructive, evil entities. In reality, most robots are used in lab or industrial settings.  These robots are fast, strong and accurate, but not ideal co-workers. They don’t communicate well with humans, and are not always designed for safety when in close proximity to people.  Dr. Croft is finding ways to help humans and robots to work together.

Dr. Elizabeth Croft, B.A.Sc. (88, Mech, UBC), M.A.Sc (92, Mech, Waterloo), Ph.D. (95, Mech, Toronto), PEng, FEC, FASME

Dr. Croft is a professor at UBC; NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, BC-Yukon at UBC; and leader of the WWEST program for women in engineering, science and technology.  The focus of this initiative is to promote science and engineering as a career choice for women and other under-represented groups, and to identify and eliminate barriers that result in attrition from these career paths. She is the founding faculty advisor for the UBC Engineering Tri-Mentoring Program, and is director of the Collaborative Advanced Robotics and Intelligent Systems Laboratory at UBC.