Improving Team Performance and Dynamics within Human-Robot Teams

Robots are increasingly joining groups and teams of people to perform collaborative tasks in a variety of settings. For example, robots are helping to perform medical surgeries, aiding police forces in the removal of explosives, and detecting spills in local grocery stores. In order to improve the performance of these human-robot teams, my work focuses on developing robots that shape team dynamics to promote inclusion, trust, and cohesion. Using computational models that detect relevant verbal and nonverbal social cues, predict high-level social dynamics, and generate decision-making policies for robot actions, I explore how a robot’s actions within a group shape human team members’ behavior for the benefit of the team.

Bio:  Sarah Sebo is in the final year of her PhD in the Computer Science Department at Yale University working with Brian Scassellati in the Social Robotics Lab. Before Yale, Sarah completed her bachelor’s degree at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. Sarah’s PhD research is in human-robot interaction where she focuses on developing robots teammates that enhance social dynamics and performance in human-robot teams.