Abstract
In 2024, embodied and situated AI resurfaced as a major focus in popular science, drawing attention in the news, startup funding, and public discourse. Roboticists have long pursued this goal and know how challenging embodiment is. Meanwhile, experts argue that intelligence stems from the ability to perceive and act on the world. In this talk, Sedal will emphasize the critical role of physical structure and shape in enabling embodied intelligence. Through research done in Sedal’s group, she will explain the challenges in connecting a robot’s structure, shape and motion to its perception and action. The talk will cover three projects: first, co-optimization of robot design and control; second, fluid-structure interaction for sequential compliant motion, and finally, tactile perception through acoustic waveguides.
Speaker bio
Audrey Sedal is an Assistant Professor at McGill University and leads the MACRObotics (Mechanics, Actuation, Computation for Robotics) group. From 2020-2021, she was a Research Assistant Professor at Toyota Technological Institute – Chicago. She earned her PhD in Mechanical Engineering at U. Michigan in 2020 and her SB in Mechanical Engineering at MIT in 2015. In 2019, she was named a US Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering.