Much has changed since Matthew Johnson-Roberson last walked the halls of Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute.
In the 15-plus years since Johnson-Roberson graduated, robots have proven they work. They can navigate city streets and sidewalks. They can fly autonomously to inspect bridges, buildings and tunnels. And they help in homes, hospitals and offces.
Johnson-Roberson, who earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from CMU's School of Computer Science in 2005, will have a chance to shape the next generation of robotics and roboticists when he returns to campus in January as the new director of the Robotics Institute.
"We're at a really important inflection point in the trajectory of robotics," Johnson-Roberson said. "It is a larger field. There are more students interested in robotics, and people are building systems that work. We have an opportunity to determine how we want to deploy robotics in the world and how can we use that technology to produce the most good."
Johnson-Roberson will be the Robotics Institute's sixth director. Professor Srinivasa Narasimhan has served as an interim director of RI since 2019, when Martial Hebert left his post as head of the institute to become dean of SCS.
"Matt's expansive background and expertise equip him well to lead the development of robotic systems across RI and SCS," Hebert said. "The Robotics Institute, the School of Computer Science and the entire Carnegie Mellon community are thrilled to welcome Matt back to campus and excited to work with him."
Johnson-Roberson is currently an associate professor of engineering in the University of Michigan's Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He co-directs the UM Ford Center for Autonomous Vehicles, and both founded and leads the Deep Robot Optical Perception (DROP) Lab. Johnson-Roberson also co-founded Refraction AI, a delivery robotics company focusing on last-mile logistics.
After graduating from CMU, Johnson-Roberson earned his Ph.D. at the University of Sydney. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology's Centre for Autonomous Systems in Stockholm and a research fellowship at the University of Sydney's Australian Centre for Field Robotics. Johnson-Roberson joined the faculty at Michigan in 2013 and taught courses related to underwater vehicle design and autonomy, computer vision, and self-driving cars.
