In a first of its kind, Dreamland Conversations will delve into the ever-evolving topic of physical AI with some of the preeminent scientists in the field. Our guests on this special and informative evening will include leaders in the field: Dr. Eric Krotkov (President of EK Consulting AI), Dr. Holly Yanco (Professor at UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell) and Dr. Larry Jackel (President of North C Technologies and a consultant with NVIDIA).
Artificial Physical Intelligence (Physical AI) refers to AI systems that can perceive, understand, reason, and interact with the physical world. While traditional AI (like ChatGPT) operates in the realm of “bits” (text, images, code), Physical AI operates in the realm of “atoms” (movement, manipulation, and physical space).
The panel will explain what is “under the hood” making Physical AI work (including machine learning, computer vision, and human-robot interaction) and show video examples of Physical AI in action.
The panel will share their guesses on when physical AI products will enter the market for household tasks such as loading dishwashers and folding laundry, and when humanoids will come of age, as well as take your questions about these impacts on all our lives.
After a multi-media presentation, the panel will be moderated by Bruce Lawler.
About our guests: Dr. Eric Krotkov presently serves as a Technical Advisor at Toyota Research Institute, and as a Technical Advisor at FieldAI where he leads Government Strategy. From 2015 to 2022, Krotkov served as the Chief Science Officer of the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), where he played many roles. In 2015, he served as the founding Chief Operating Officer, helping bring the company into existence. From 2017 to 2021, he led exploratory research efforts in automated driving, robotics, new materials for batteries and fuel cells, machine assisted cognition, the University AI Research program ($15M/year). From 2020 to 2022 he drove technology transfer and opportunity discovery for Toyota.
Prior to TRI, Krotkov served as a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he created the Tactical Mobile Robotics program. He then consulted for 15 years for DARPA.
Earlier in his career, Krotkov served as Vice President for Software at Cytometrics, a medical imaging technology start-up, and worked as a faculty member of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where he researched machine perception and mobile robotics, with a focus on planetary rovers.
Dr. Krotkov earned his Ph.D. in Computer and Information Science from the University of Pennsylvania, for pioneering work in active computer vision.
Dr. Holly Yanco is a world-renowned expert in robotics and human-robot interaction (HRI). She serves as a Distinguished Professor in the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences at UMass Amherst and is the founding director of the New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation (NERVE) Center at UMass Lowell. Her research focuses on creating more effective partnerships between humans and robots, with particular emphasis on assistive technology, urban search and rescue, and robot evaluation metrics. For over 25 years, she has led interdisciplinary collaborations funded by major agencies including the National Science Foundation, NASA, and DARPA.
A recognized leader in the scientific community, Dr. Yanco is a Fellow of both the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She has made significant contributions to robotics education, including the development of the Artbotics program and the robotics minor at UMass Lowell. Dr. Yanco received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and her B.A. from Wellesley College.
Dr. Larry Jackel is a distinguished researcher and executive with a career spanning several of the most influential institutions in machine learning and robotics. He currently serves as the President of North C Technologies and has been a consultant with NVIDIA since 2015, contributing to their autonomous vehicle efforts. Dr. Jackel spent the majority of his career at Bell Labs and AT&T Labs, where he managed research groups that pioneered deep learning and pattern recognition technologies now used globally.
From 2003 to 2007, Dr. Jackel served as a Program Manager at DARPA, where he conceived and managed high-impact programs in autonomous ground robot navigation and documentation storage. His work has been instrumental in bridging the gap between theoretical machine learning and practical robotic locomotion. He is a Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the IEEE and holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Physics from Cornell University.
GENERAL PUBLIC: $59 ($50 +$9 Service Fee) DREAMLAND MEMBERS: $50 (No Service Fee)
