Hans Moravec CV

Hans P. Moravec

Biography

Hans Moravec is chief scientist of Seegrid Corporation, maker of vision-guided industrial mobile robots. He had been research professor in the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, where he retains an adjunct faculty position. He has been thinking about machines thinking since he was a child in the 1950s, building his first robot, a construct of tin cans, batteries, lights and a motor, at age ten. In high school he won two science fair prizes for a light-following electronic turtle and a tape-controlled robot hand. As an undergraduate he designed a computer to control fancier robots, and experimented with learning and automatic programming on commercial machines. During his master's work he built a small robot with whiskers and photoelectric eyes controlled by a minicomputer, and wrote a thesis on a computer language for artificial intelligence. He received a PhD from Stanford University in 1980 for a TV-equipped robot, remote controlled by a large computer, that negotiated cluttered obstacle courses, taking about five hours. Since 1980 his Mobile Robot Lab at CMU has discovered more effective approaches for robot spatial representation, notably 3D occupancy grids, that, with newly available computer power, promise commercial free-ranging mobile robots within a decade. In 2003 he co-founded SEEGRID Corporation to undertake this commercialization. His books, Mind Children: the future of robot and human intelligence, 1988, and Robot: mere machine to transcendent mind, 1998, consider the implications of evolving robot intelligence. He has also published papers and articles in robotics, computer graphics, multiprocessors, space travel and other speculative areas.

PERSONAL

Name: HANS PETER MORAVEC

Born: November 30, 1948, Kautzen, Austria

Nationality: Canada (U.S. Permanent Resident)

Marital Status: Married since 1984

Office Addresses:: Seegrid Corporation
216 RIDC Park West Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15275
USA
tel: (412) 586-4603
net: hpm @ seegrid.com
web: http://www.seegrid.com; Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891
tel: (412) 268-3829
fax: (412) 268-5895
net: hpm @ cmu.edu
web: http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/~hpm

Home Address:: 415 S. Murtland St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
tel: (412) 731-4353

Residences:: 1980-now Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1996 Berlin, Germany
1992 Cambridge, Massachusetts
1971-1980 Palo Alto, California
1969-1971 London, Ontario, Canada
1967-1969 Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada
1953-1967 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1948-1953 Kautzen, Austria

EDUCATION

PhD Computer Science: Stanford University 1971-1980
Thesis Advisors: John McCarthy, Tom Binford
MSc Computer Science: University of Western Ontario 1969-1971
Thesis Advisor: Magnus Steinby
BSc Mathematics: Acadia University (Nova Scotia) 1967-1969
Engineering
Loyola College (Montreal) 1965-1967

EMPLOYMENT

2003 - present: Chief Scientist, Seegrid Corporation.
1980 - present: Research Professor (Research Scientist in 1980, Senior RS in 1985, Principal RS in 1993, Research Professor in 1995, Adjunct in 2005) with the Robotics Institute of Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213. Directed the Mobile Robot Laboratory 1980-2005.
1971 - 1980: Research Assistant at the Artificial Intelligence Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. Worked on projects in natural language understanding, vision, graphics, laser scanning, computer systems, multiprocessors, a mobile robot, physics and space travel. Served as a teaching assistant in a Lisp programming and a Robotics course.
1969 - 1971: Research Assistant with the Computer Science department, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Worked on statistical analysis programs and computer security, built and programmed a small mobile robot, produced several computer animated films, designed and specified a tape recorder interface for computer aided instruction.
Summer 1968: Programmer and computer operator with The Chief Statistician's Office, Bell Telephone of Canada, 620 Belmont St., Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Worked on a time series program, and wrote one to derive statistics from telephone toll data.
1967 - 1969: Summer 1967 and part time. Programmer for Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Wrote a student registration system for Acadia, numerous listing and form generation programs, schedulers, and scientific application programs in geology and mathematics. Served as assistant in Computer Science courses.
Summer 1967: Shipping department worker with Union Carbide Canada, Ltd., Chemicals and Plastics Division, 10555 Metropolitan Blvd., Montreal East, Quebec, Canada. Transferral of polyethylene and ethylene glycol to tanker trucks and trains.
Summer 1966: Laboratory technician with Union Carbide Canada, Ltd., Chemicals and Plastics Division, 10555 Metropolitan Blvd., Montreal East, Quebec, Canada. Did laboratory tests for polyethylene production quality control.
Summer 1965: Painter for H. Krauspe, building contractor, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

CONSULTING

November 1997: Paramount Pictures, Hollywood, California, c/o Paula Wagner, technical consultant for film Mission Impossible II.
February-August 1996: (sabbatical) Daimler Benz Research, Berlin D10559, c/o Frieder Lohnert. Developed stereoscopic input for a three dimensional spatial mapping system for mobile robots. Great results!
March 1994 - September 1995: JPL, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, c/o Joel Sercel. Advised on robotics and computer options for a "horizon" Jupiter mission in 2050.
June 1993 - January 1997: Apple Computer Corp., Santa Clara, California, c/o Steve Young. Developed a probability theory based battery monitor for portable computers. Project ran in several stages, as new computers were introduced.
October 1991 - August 1992: (sabbatical year) Thinking Machines Corp., Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142, c/o Danny Hillis. Developed a very fast three dimensional spatial mapping system for vision-equipped mobile robots.
May 1989: Orion Pictures, Los Angeles, California, technical consultant for film Robocop II.
1983 - 1992: University of California, Lawrence-Livermore Laboratory, P.O. Box 5012, Livermore, California 94550, c/o Lowell L. Wood. Providing advice on the application of supercomputers to problems and opportunities in robotics and space.
1982 - 1992: Denning Mobile Robotics, Inc., 21 Concord Street, Wilmington, Massachusetts, 01887, c/o R. Warren George. Providing advice and software for sensing, navigation, control and planning for autonomous mobile robots. Held a directorship in the company from June 1982 - June 1983, and April 1984 to 1997.
March 1983 - December 1984: Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 1310 Beulah Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15235, c/o Philipp F. Schweizer. Advised an autonomous undersea vehicle project in the area of high level control systems.
April 1978: Digital Equipment Corp., Albuquerque, New Mexico, c/o Tom Stockebrand. Advised on the use of grey-scale and anti-aliasing to multiply effective screen resolution for a project developing a high performance graphics terminal.
1968 - 1972: c/o J. B. Creighton of Collier Norris & Quinlan Ltd., 800 Dorchester St. W., Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Wrote programs to evaluate stock investment strategies and to maintain and produce daily reports and analyses of large portfolios of New York and Toronto Stock Exchange stocks.

RESEARCH GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

June 1999 - December 2002: DARPA
Robust Navigation by Probabilistic Volumetric Sensing
$970,000 over 3.5 years
December 1996 - December 1998: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Fractal Branching Ultra Dexterous Robots (Bush Robots)
$224,000 over 2 years
January 1997 - December 1997: Daimler Benz Research, Berlin
Robot Navigation with 3D Evidence Grids
$30,000 over 1 year
September 1990 - June 1995: Office of Naval Research
Probabilistic Sensor Interpretation
$700,000 over 4 years
January 1985 - September 1990: Office of Naval Research
Autonomous Mobile Robots
$1,000,000 over 5.5 years
August 1987 - March 1990: Apple Computer Corp.
CRT Screen Alignment System
$160,000 over 2 years
September 1986 - September 1987: Ben Franklin Partnership - with Robert M. Unetich, ITS Corp.
UHF Data System for Robotics etc.
$50,000 over 1 year
January 1985 - January 1987: DARPA - with Takeo Kanade.
R&D of a Road-Following Vision System
$2,000,000 over 2 years
September 1984 - September 1985: Ben Franklin Partnership - with Jim Crowley
World Modeling & Navigation for a Security Robot
$100,000 over 1 year
August 1984 - August 1985: Denning Mobile Robotics, Inc.
Sonar Navigation
$150,000 over 1 year
September 1983 - September 1984: Ben Franklin Partnership - with Jim Crowley.
Autonomous Mobile Robots
$200,000 over 1 year
April 1981 - December 1984: Office of Naval Research - with Raj Reddy.
Autonomous Underwater Robots
$2,000,000 over 3 years

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Martin Martin: 1993-2001 (PhD September 2001)
The Simulated Evolution of Robot Perception
Frank Dellaert: 1995-1999 (PhD September 2001)
Structure from Motion without Correspondence
Ryohei Takada: 1992-1993 (MS September 1993)
Surface Orientation in Evidence Grids
Richard Wallace: 1983-1989 (PhD September 1989)
Finding Natural Clusters through Entropy Minimization
Larry Matthies: 1982-1989 (PhD September 1989)
Error Models in Stereo Vision
Alberto Elfes: 1982-1989 (PhD September 1989)
Occupancy Grids: A Stochastic Approach
to Mobile Robot Perception and Navigation
Pat Muir: 1982-1988 (Master's April 1984) (PhD September 1988)
Modeling and Control of Wheeled Mobile Robots
Digital Servo Controller Design for Brushless D.C. Motors
Chuck Thorpe: 1982-1984 (PhD September 1984)
FIDO: Vision and Navigation for a Mobile Robot

PUBLICATIONS

Robots, After All, in Communications of the ACM, October 2003, pp. 90-97 (invited by Andrew Rosenbloom)

Robotics (encyclopedia article), for Encyclopaedia Britannica, July 2003 (invited by William Hosch)

with Scott Friedman, SEEGRID Corporation, operating in Pittsburgh, PA, incorporated February 2003

Mass-market mobile utility robot development:

SEEGRID Startup Announcement, June 16, 2003
Commercialization Feeler, September 30, 2002

DARPA-sponsored research:

Progress report 7 (Transition), September 15, 2002

Progress report 6 (Higher fidelity), February 25, 2002

Progress report 5 (Trinocular run), July 1, 2001

Progress report 4 (Photorealism!?), March 20, 2001

Progress report 3 (Learning by coloring), June 20, 2000

Progress report 2 (Image rectification), January 20, 2000

Progress report 1 (Project overview), August 5, 1999

proposal: Robust Navigation by Probabilistic Volumetric Sensing, January 1999

abstract, December 1998

Dense 3D Perception for Broad Mobile Robot Applications, proposal abstract for DARPA BAA0221, February 2003

Robots: Re-evolving Minds at 10⁷ Times Nature's Speed, in Cerebrum, v3n2, Spring 2001, pp. 34-49 (invited by Walter Donway)

informal reports:

Kubrick's A.I. and Mind Children, June 25, 2001

Re-Evolving Mind, December 2000

Robot Evolution Talk, October 2000

Ripples and Puddles, Web publication, April 2000
in EDGE 72, July 26, 2000 (invited by John Brockman)
Kleine Wellen und Pfützen, in Telepolis, November 2000 (German translation by Ronald Voullié)

Rise of the Robots, in Scientific American, December 1999, pp. 124-135 (invited by John Rennie) [original draft: Robots Among Us]

Simulación, conciencia, existencia, in Arte Facto & Ciencia: Marcel-lí Antúnez Roca - Epifanía (book accompanying Antúnez museum exhibition), Claudia Gianetti, ed., pp. 55-71, Fundación Telefonica, Barcelona, September 1999 (Spanish translation, invited by Claudia Gianetti)

The Universal Robot, in Ars Electronica: Facing the Future, Timothy Druckrey, ed., pp. 116-123, MIT Press, 1999

informal reports:

DECLINE TRAVEL NOTICE, September 1, 1999

Letter re. Apr 8, 1999 NYRB Review by John Searle, March 25, 1999

Simple Equations for Vinge's Technological Singularity, February 1999

Letter re. Jan 3, 1999 NYT Review by Colin McGinn, January 7, 1999

Simulation, Consciousness, Existence, in Intercommunication 28, pp. 98-112, Spring 1999 (Japanese translation, invited by Takatoshi Shinoda)

with Jesse Easudes, Fractal branching ultra-dexterous robots (Bush robots), Final Report for NASA Advanced Concepts Research Project PR-10-86888, NCC7-7, January 1999

Robot: mere machine to transcendent mind, Oxford University Press, November 1998
Translations: German - Computer übernehmen die Macht: Vom Siegeszug der künstlichen Intelligenz, Hoffman und Campe, 1999; Chinese - Shanghai Scientific & Technical Publishers, 2000; Japanese - Shoeisha Co., Ltd., 2002; Hungarian - Europa Publishers, Budapest; Korean - Bada Publishing

informal reports:

Existence as Ascription, December 1998

Robotbooks.com Interview , September 1998

Autonomous Free-Ranging Utility Robots for Mass Market before 2005, January 1998

When will computer hardware match the human brain?, Journal of Transhumanism, vol. 1, March 1998 (invited by Nick Bostrom)

The Senses have No Future (Die Sinne haben keine Zukunft), in Proceedings of Der Sinn der Sinne International Congress, Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany, February 2, 1997, pp. 319-335, Steidl Verlag, 1998 (invited and translated by Florian Rotzer) Also in The Virtual Dimension: Architecture, Representation, and Crash Culture, John Beckmann, ed., Princeton Architectural Press, 1998, pp. 84-95.

with Jesse Easudes and Frank Dellaert, Fractal branching ultra-dexterous robots (Bush robots) quarterly reports for NASA Advanced Concepts Research Project PR-10-86888, NCC7-7, December 1996 - 1998

with J. Beninghaus, M. Blackwell, K. Dowling, J. Hollowell, Apparatus and Method for Determining the Charge of a Battery, US Patent 5,596,260, issued January 21, 1997

Robot Spatial Perception by Stereoscopic Vision and 3D Evidence Grids, CMU Robotics Institute Technical Report CMU-RI-TR-96-34, September 1996. also Daimler Benz Research, Berlin, Technical Report, 1996

Korper, Roboter und Geist, in Die Technik auf dem Weg zur Seele: Forschungen an der Schnittstelle Gehirn/Computer, Christa Maar, Ernst Poppel, Thomas Christaller, eds, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbeck bei Hamburg, August 1996, pp. 162:195. (German translation, invited by Christa Maar) Also on CD-ROM, Mind Revolution: Hirnforschung im High-Tech Zeitalter Vom revolutionaren Zusammenspiel zwichen Mensch, Gehirn und Computer, New World Vision Multimedia GmbH, Munich, 1997

Simulation, Consciousness, Existence, in Telepolis, June 1996. (original English, and German translation, invited by Florian Rotzer)

Geisteskinder: Universelle Roboter: In vierzig Jahren haben sie uns uberholt, C'T magazin fur computer technik, v1996n6, June 1996, pp. 98:104. (German translation, invited by Thomas Schult)

with Martin C. Martin, Robot Evidence Grids, CMU Robotics Institute Technical Report CMU-RI-TR-96-06, March 1996

Korper, Roboter, Geist, Kunstforum, v133, February-April 1996, pp. 98:112. (German translation, invited by Florian Rotzer)

Roger Penrose's Gravitonic Brains, PSYCHE, v2n1, May 1995. (invited by David Chalmers)

Brainmakers by David H. Freedman (book review), IEEE Spectrum, February 1995. (invited by Glen Zorpette)

The Great 1980s AI Bubble: A Review of The Brain Makers, by H.P. Newquist (book review), AI Magazine, Fall 1994. pp 86-87. (invited by Milind Tambe)

Robots: Shaping the Future, Asiaweek, August 10, 1994, pp. 30-35. (invited by Joseph Nagy)

The Universal Robot, in The World of 2044: technological development and the future of society, Charles Sheffield, Marcello Alonso and Morton Kaplan, eds., Paragon House, 1994, pp. 27-40

The Age of Robots, Extro 1, Proceedings of the First Extropy Institute Conference on TransHumanist Thought, April 30-May 1, 1994, Max More, ed., pp. 84-100, Extropy Institute, 1994. (invited by Max More)

El futuro de los robots, Actualidad Technologica (Madrid, Spain), v7ns66,67, April, May 1994, p. 24. (Spanish translation)

Birth of a superorganism (book review of Metaman by Gregory Stock), IEEE Spectrum, v31n5, May 1994, p. 12. (invited by Glen Zorpette)

Das Zeitalter der Roboter, GDI Impuls (quarterly journal of the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute for economics, Zurich, Switzerland), v12#1, March 1994, pp. 54-65. (in German translation invited by Karin Frick)

informal reports:

Robots Inherit Human Minds, May 1994

Hexagonal Cellular Automata, 1994

Der technische Homunkulus, Schweizerische Technische Zeitschrift, 9-93, pp. 10-13, September 8, 1993, Zurich, Switzerland. (German translation)

The Universal Robot, in Vision-21, Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in the Era of Cyberspace, NASA Conference Publication 10129, pp. 35-42, March 1993. (invited by G. Landis)

with Frederik Pohl, Souls in Silicon, OMNI, v16#2, November 1993, pp. 66-76

with Mike Blackwell, Learning Sensor Models for Evidence Grids, in CMU Robotics Institute 1991 Annual Research Review, 1993, pp. 8-15

The Universal Robot, Siemens Review, v60#1, pp. 36-41, January/February 1993. also appeared in German, French and Spanish editions of Siemens review. (invited by A. F. Pease)

Pigs in Cyberspace, Extropy, #10, January 1993

Mental Augmentation (fictional scientific articles and Email exchanges), in Wild Palms Reader, Roger Trilling, Stuart Swezey (Editors), St. Martin's Press, 1993. (invited by Roger Trilling)

Pigs in Cyberspace, in Thinking Robots, an aware internet and cyberpunk librarians: the 1992 LITA president's program, Bruce Miller and Milton Wolf, ed., Library and Information Technology Association, 1992, pp. 15:21

Letter from Moravec to Penrose, in Thinking Robots, an aware internet and cyberpunk librarians: the 1992 LITA president's program, Bruce Miller and Milton Wolf, ed., Library and Information Technology Association, 1992, pp. 51:58

The Universal Robot, Visions of the Future, Science Reviews Ltd., Northwood, England, 1992, pp. 65:74. Also in Speculations in Science and Technology, v15#4, pp. 286-294, December 1992. (invited by Clifford Pickover)

Time Travel and Computing, Extropy, #9, July 1992, pp. 15-20

The Universal Robot, The World&I, v7#1, January 1992, pp. 34-43. (invited by Marcello Alonso)

The Universal Robot, Analog, v112#1&2, January 1992, pp. 92-101

informal reports:

Pigs in Cyberspace, April 1992

On the Cosmology and Ecology of Cyberspace, January 1992

Mind Without Body, November 1991

The Universal Robot, July 1991

Time Travel and Computing, May 1991

1st Results in Automatic Parameter Adjustment Learning, January 1991

Caution! Robot Vehicle!, in Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Theory of Computation (John McCarthy Festschrift), Vladimir Lifschitz, ed., Academic Press, 1991, pp. 331-344 (invited by V. Lifschitz)

The Universal Robot, in Out of Control: Ars Electronica 91, Gottfried Hattinger and Peter Weibel, eds., Landesverlag, Linz, Austria, September 1991, pp. 13-28 (invited by G. Hattinger)

The Stanford Cart and the CMU Rover, in Autonomous Robot Vehicles, I. J. Cox and G. T. Wilfong, eds, Springer-Verlag, 1990, pp. 407-419 (invited by I. J. Cox)

Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics and the coming Robotopia by Frederik Schodt, (book review), American Scientist, May/June 1990, pp. 285-286. (invited)

One small step for a Volksrobot, in Algorithm the personal programming newsletter, v1.3, March/April 1990, pp. 14-17. (invited by A.K. Dewdney)

Der Mensch als Maschine, in ZeitMagazin, Nr. 12, March 16, 1990, pp. 28-34. (magazine of Die Zeit, Hamburg, in German translation) (invited by Jorge Albrecht)

informal reports:

Open Letter to Roger Penrose, February 1990

After Life, September 1989

Exceeding the Cosmos, July 1988

Robotertraume, GDI Impuls (quarterly journal of the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute for economics, Zurich, Switzerland - article published in German translation), v7#4, December 1989, pp. 3-16. (invited by Karin Frick)

with Blackwell, M., Dowling, K., Young, S. and Zajicek, L., Automated Testing Apparatus for Screen Alignment, US Patent 4,897,721, issued January 1990

The Robot as Liberation from Human Nature, transcript of 1989 Hull Memorial Lecture, in Interactions:10, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, December 1989, pp. 32-42. (invited by Lance Schachterle)

The Coming Divorce in Human Nature, Whole Earth Review, Summer 1989, pp. 12-16. (invited by Richard Kadrey)

with Cho, D. W., A Bayesian Method for Certainty Grids (DVI format) (See Figures here), working notes of AAAI 1989 Spring Symposium Series, Symposium on Mobile Robots, Stanford, CA, 1989

Human Culture: A Genetic Takeover Underway, in Artificial Life (Volume VI, Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity), Christopher G. Langton, editor, Addison Wesley, New York, 1989, pp. 167-200. (invited by Chris Langton)

Certainty Grids for Sensor Fusion in Mobile Robots (DVI format), in Sensor Devices and Systems for Robotics, Alicia Casals, ed., Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1989, pp. 243-276 (invited by Alicia Casals). Also CMU Robotics Institute 1987 Annual Research Review, 1988, pp. 33-48. Also in AI Magazine v9#2, Summer 1988, pp. 61-77. (invited by Avi Kak)

Mind Children: the future of robot and human intelligence, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 1988
Translations: German - Mind Children: der Wettlauf zwichen menschlicher und kunstlicher Intelligenz, Hoffman und Campe, 1990; French - Une Vie Apres la Vie, Odile Jacob, 1992; Spanish - El Hombre Mechanico, Temas de Hoy, 1990; Japanese - Machines as Life (trans.), Iwanami Shoten, 1991; Portuguese - Homens e Robots: O Futuro da Inteligencia Humana e Robotica, Gradiva, 1992; Italian - Boringhieri

Harvard Doesn't Publish Science Fiction: 1-Superdense Computers; 2-Time and Alternity by Computer; 3-The Harmonies of the Sphere; in New Destinies, Volume III, Jim Baen, ed., Baen Books, February 1988, pp. 212-247

Certainty Grids for Mobile Robots (DVI format), Proceedings of the NASA/JPL Space Telerobotics Workshop, January 22, 1987, Volume 1, pp. 307-312. (invited by Raj Doshi)

Engines of Creation by Eric K. Drexler (book review), Technology Review, V89n7, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 1986, pp. 76-77. (invited by Sandra Hackman)

informal reports:

Bayesian Grids, February 1987

Sensing versus Inferring in Robot Control, January 1987

Time and Alternity by Computer, July 1986

The Harmonies of the Sphere, July 1986

Orbital Bridges, July 1986

Three Dimensional Images from Cheap Sonar, December 1985

Indeterminacy, Time Dilation and Higher Dimensionality from a Classical Model, March 1985

with M. Kadonoff, F. Benayad-Cherif, A. Franklin, J. Maddox, L.Muller, B. Sert, Arbitration of Multiple Control Strategies for Mobile Robots, SPIE conference on Advances in Intelligent Robotics Systems, Cambridge, Massachusetts, October 26-31, 1986. In SPIE Proceedings Vol 727, paper 727-10

Mobile Robots and General Intelligence, MIT Sea Grant Program and Wallace Lecture Seminar, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 22-23 October 1986, in Undersea Teleoperators and Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles, edited by Norman Doelling and Elizabeth Harding, MIT Sea Grant College Program, MTSG 87-1, Cambridge, MA, January 1987, pp. 181-199

Dualism from Reductionism, Proceedings of the International Symposium on AI and the Human Mind, Yale University, New Haven, CT, March 1-3, 1986: in Truth Volume 2, Dallas, TX, 1987. (invited by Roy Varghese)

(editor) Autonomous Mobile Robots - Annual Report 1985, CMU Robotics Institute Technical Report CMU-RI-TR-86-4, February 1986

with the CMU Mobile Robot Lab, Towards Autonomous Vehicles (supplementary file), CMU Robotics Institute 1984 Annual Research Review, CMU, Pittsburgh, September 1985, pp. 33-50

with C. Thorpe and L. Matthies, Experiments and Thoughts on Visual Navigation, proceedings of the 1985 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, St. Louis, March, 1985, pp. 830-835

with R. Wallace, A. Stentz, C. Thorpe, W. Whittaker and T. Kanade, First Results in Robot Road-Following (section), proceedings of the 1985 IJCAI, Los Angeles, August, 1985 and proceedings of the 1985 ASME conference on Computers in Engineering, Boston, August, 1985

with A. E. Elfes, High Resolution Maps from Wide Angle Sonar, 1984, proceedings of the 1985 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, St. Louis, March, 1985, pp 116-121, and proceedings of the 1985 ASME conference on Computers in Engineering, Boston, August, 1985

Machines with Mobility, in Robots, Salamander Books, London, England 1985, pp. 66-79. (invited)

The Rovers, in Robotics, Marvin Minsky, ed., Doubleday, 1985, pp. 123-145. (invited)

Robots that Rove, in SIGBIO, newsletter of the ACM special interest group on biomedical copmputing, v7n2, A01, June 1985, pp. 13-15. (invited)

Three Degrees for a Mobile Robot, Proceedings of the ASME Conference on Computers in Engineering, Las Vegas, August 12-15, 1984

Locomotion, Vision and Intelligence, Robotics Research - The First International Symposium, Michael Brady and Richard Paul, eds., MIT Press, 1984, pp. 215-224. (invited)

The Stanford Cart and The CMU Rover, Proceedings of the IEEE, July 1983, pp. 872-884. (invited)

with F. B. Carley, The Rocket/Skyhook Combination, L5 News, v8#3, March 1983, pp. 4-6

The CMU Rover, in Proceedings of AAAI-82, the second national artificial intelligence conference, Pittsburgh, August 18-20, 1982, pp. 377-380. also in Update, Volume 3, July 1982, Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory, U of New Hampshire

The Endless Frontier and The Thinking Machine, in The Endless Frontier, v2, Jerry Pournelle, ed., Grosset & Dunlap, Ace books, January 1982, pp. 374-397. (invited)

Rover Visual Obstacle Avoidance (figure captions), proceedings of the seventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Vancouver, British Columbia, August 1981, pp. 785-790

3D Graphics and the Wave Theory, presented at the 1981 Siggraph conference, Dallas, Texas, August 1981, Computer Graphics, v15#3, August 1981, pp. 289-296

Robot Rover Visual Navigation, UMI Research Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1981

with R. L. Forward, High Wire Act (original draft), Omni, Omni publications international, New York, July 1981, pp. 44-47. Also in The OMNI Book of Space, Zebra Books, Kensington Publishing Corp., New York, N. Y., January, 1984, pp. 73-82

informal reports:

Robots and Intelligence, August 1983

The CMU Rover, March 1981

Fast Visibility Maps and 3D Graphics, March 1981

Waves, not Corpuscles!, January 1981

Bush Robots, July 1980

3D Modeling and Graphics with Multiprocessors, February 1980

Notes on Magnetic Monopole Applications, July 1979

Obstacle Avoidance and Navigation in the Real World by a Seeing Robot Rover, Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, California, May 1980. Available as Stanford AIM-340, CS-80-813 and CMU-RI-TR-3

Obstacle Avoidance, 16mm film illustrating PhD research, Stanford, November 1979

Cable Cars in the Sky, in The Endless Frontier, v1, Jerry Pournelle, ed., Grosset & Dunlap, Ace books, November 1979, pp. 301-322. (invited by J. Pournelle)

Fully Interconnecting Multiple Computers with Pipelined Sorting Nets, IEEE Transactions on Computers, vc-28#10, October 1979, pp. 795-798

Visual Mapping by a Robot Rover, Proceedings of the 6th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Tokyo, Japan, August 1979, pp. 599-601

with T. O. Binford and D. B. Gennery, Final Report: Computer Visual Systems for Exploratory Vehicles, NASA contract NASW 2916, April 1979

Today's Computers, Intelligent Machines and Our Future, Analog, v99#2, February 1979, pp. 59-84

informal reports:

Preliminary Specifications for a High Performance Byte Raster Display Terminal, June 1977

Non-Synchronous Orbital Skyhooks for the Moon and Mars with Conventional Materials, December 1977

An Interconnection Method for Multiple Computers using Sorting Nets, August 1978

Free Space Skyhooks, November 1978

Skyhook Bibliography, August 1983

Skyhook!, L5 News, v3#8, Tucson, AZ, August 1978, pp. 1-3

Orbital Skyhooks, the elegant road to space, computer graphic film, Stanford University, October 1977

A Non-Synchronous Orbital Skyhook, The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, v25#4, pp. 307-322, Oct-Dec 1977

Towards Automatic Visual Obstacle Avoidance (short version), Proceedings of the 5th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, MIT, Cambridge, Mass., August 1977, p. 584

with D. B. Gennery, Cart Project Progress Report, for NASA contract NASW 2916, July 1976

Final Report: Research in Visual Navigation, JPL contract 953995, January 1975

informal reports:

Intelligent Machines: How to get there from here and What to do afterwards, September 1977

Bleep Generator, January 1976

The Role of Raw Power in Intelligence, May 1975

Locomotion, Vision and Intelligence, June 1974

The Cart Project: A Personal History, A Plea for Help, and A Proposal, May 1974

A System for Simplifying Algebraic Expressions, December 1971

with J. M. Carroll et al., Multi-dimensional Security Program for a Generalized Information Retrieval System, in Proc. AFIPS 1971 Fall Joint Computer Conference, Anaheim, California, October 1971, pp. 571-577

A Lisp-like Language Based on Variably Sized List Elements, Master's thesis, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, 1971

A Program for Generating Permutations, report for Computer Centre, Loyola College, Montreal, Canada, 1966
(converted factorial number (radix[n, n-1 ... 2, 1]) counts into unique permutations of n items)

PRESENTATIONS

Robots, Presentation to South Allegheny Elementary School 6th grade class, McKeesport, PA, February 11, 2004. (invited by Kris Curran)

Navigation and Perception by 3D Evidence Grids, Presentation at Autonomous Navigation Panel at Pittsburgh Robotics Foundry First National Alliance Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, November 10, 2003. (invited by Bill Thomasmeyer)

SEEGRID Navigation and Perception, presentation to Intelligent Vehicle Systems Group, John Deere & Company, Moline, IL, September 23, 2003. (invited by John Reid and Tom Hein)

SEEGRID Navigation, presentation to Amerden Inc., St. Augustine, FL, July 17, 2003. (invited by Roland Anderson) Future Trends in Robotics, talk for Strategic Studies Group of the Chief of Naval Operations, Rootics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, November 5, 2002. (invited by Don McGillen)

Transition, (Report for DARPA MARS Principal Investigator's Meeting), Arlington, Virginia, September 15, 2002. (invited by Douglas Gage)

Mobile Robot Past and Future, guest lecture closing Mobile Robot course, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, May 2, 2002. (invited by Illah Nourbakhsh)

3D Grid Maps for Mobile Robot Perception, Robotics Institute Seminar, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, March 15, 2002. (invited by Yanxi Liu)

Higher fidelity, (Report for DARPA MARS Principal Investigator's Meeting), Los Angeles, California, February 26, 2002. (invited by Douglas Gage)

Robots: Re-Evolving Mind, Dist. Lecture Series: Defining Boundaries of 21st Century Science, The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Maryland, November 29, 2001. (invited by Claire Fraser)

Robots: Re-Evolving Mind, 12th Annual CSEOL Symposium: Evolution in the Computer Age, University of California at Los Angeles, April 13, 2001. (invited by Gary Fogel)

Photorealism!?, (Report for DARPA MARS Principal Investigator's Meeting), San Diego, California, March 21, 2001. (invited by Douglas Gage)

Robot future, blue sky panel discussion, Interface 2001, Carnegie Mellon University, March 17, 2001. (invited by Chip Walter)

Robotics, Automation and the Future of Human Resources, Keynote presentation, HR Tomorrow 2000 Conference, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, October 28, 2000. (invited by Avner Ben-Ner)

Mass Utility Robots this Decade, Finally!, Earthware Symposium (Newell-Simon Hall Opening), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, October 19, 2000. (invited by Raul Valdes-Perez)

Robot mass market by 2010, full intelligence by 2050, Andrew's Leap (high school student summer program) presentation, Carnegie Mellon University, July 26, 2000. (invited by Steve Rudich)

Mobile Robot Sunrise, CORAL Seminar, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, April 5, 2000. (invited by Tucker Balch)

Will Spiritual Robots replace Humanity by 2100?, panel presentation Stanford Spring Symposium, Stanford, California, April 1, 2000. (invited by Doug Hofstadter)

Image rectification (Report for DARPA MARS Principal Investigator's Meeting), Aberdeen, Maryland, January 20, 2000. (invited by Mark Swinson)

Mass Market Mobile Utility Robots by 2005, MIT Media Laboratory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, September 8, 1999. (invited by Nick Cassamatis)

Project Overview (Report for DARPA MARS Principal Investigator's Meeting), Orlando, Florida, July 23, 1999. (invited by Mark Swinson)

Utility and Universal Robots, Soon, Physics Division Colloquium, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, May 21, 1999. (invited by Tom O'Neill)

Mobile Robot Future, guest lecture closing Mobile Robot course, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, April 29, 1999. (invited by Illah Nourbakhsh)

Many Robots Soon, Robotronica, Museum Quarter, Vienna, Austria, June 20, 1998. (invited by Marie Ringler)

Mind Children, Carnegie Mellon "University Choice" Seminar, CMU, 12 lectures, Sept-Dec 1997.

Presentation for CBC program on Intelligent Machine Future, Galafilm studios, Montreal, Quebec, November 21, 1997. (invited by Janet Torge)

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, University of Virginia Digital Directions Seminar, University of Virginia, Charlotte, Virginia, November 7, 1997. (invited by Dianne Fauerbach)

Space Implications of Future Commercial Utility Robots, NRC Workshop on a Biology-Based Technology to Enhance The Human Presence in Extended Space Exploration, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, October 22. 1997. (invited by Takeo Kanade)

Stereo Vision, 3D Grids, 1,000 MIPS, Vacuum Cleaning!, Field Robotics Seminar, Carnegie Mellon University, July 15, 1997. (invited by Sanjiv Singh)

Mind Fire, Mensa signature event presentation, Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, June 21, 1997. (invited by Howard Singer)

Embodied Algorithms, "Cyberfest" University of Illinois, Urbana Illinois, March 14, 1997. (invited by Richard Powers)

The Senses have No Future, "Der Sinn der Sinne" International Congress, Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany, February 2, 1997. (invited by Florian Rotzer)

Mind Children, Carnegie Mellon "University Choice" Seminar, CMU, 12 lectures, Sept-Dec 1996.

Robot Spatial Perception by Stereoscopic Vision and 3D Evidence Grids, Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute Seminar, CMU, September 27, 1996.

Sensor Interpretation algorithms for spatial representation, Office of Naval Research Spatial Orientation and Navigation Workshop, Woods Hole, MA, September 15, 1995. (invited by Teresa McMullen)

Machine Consciousness and The Exploration of Space, NASA Administrator's Seminar Series "To Boldly Go: America's Next Era in Space." presentation with Roger Penrose, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., September 11, 1995. (invited by Daniel Goldin and France Cordova)

Evolution and AI, Panel discussions at EPIIC Colloquium, 20/20 Visions of the Future, Tufts University, Massachusetts, March 4-6, 1995. (invited by Daniel Dennett)

House Robot Navigation, Presentation for Daimler-Benz AG Systems Technology Group, Berlin, Germany, February 20, 1995. (invited by Frieder Lohnert)

Robots Inherit Human Minds, Burda GmbH Conference on Computer-Brain Interfaces, Munich, Germany, February 15, 1995. (invited by Christa Maar)

AI, Future File program for the Canadian Discovery Channel, Montreal, Quebec, December 11, 1994. (invited by Philip Leclerc)

Computer Maxima Options, NASA Space Exploration and Development Horizon Mission Methodology Workshop, Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, September 23, 1994. (invited by Robert Frisbee)

The Age of Robots, Confluence '94, Science Fiction and Fantasy Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, July 23, 1994. (invited by Greg Armstrong)

AI and Robotics, The World's Future: Convention of the Swiss Technical Association, Montreaux, Switzerland, June 3 and 4, 1994. (invited by Karin Frick and Georges Spicher)

The Age of Robots, Keynote Speech, Extro 1: the first Extropy Institute conference on Transhumanist Thought, Sunnyvale, CA, April 30, 1994. (invited by Max More)

The Age of Robots, Distinguished Lecturer Program, St. Thomas University, St. Paul, MN, April 20, 1994. (invited by Richard DeLyser)

Cybernetics & Robotics, NASA Space Exploration and Development Horizon Mission Methodology Workshop, Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, March 30, 1994. (invited by Robert Frisbee)

The Age of Mind, Friday Evening Lecture, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, June 25, 1993. (invited by Henry Schmidek)

Universal Robots in the Next Few Decades, Vision-21, Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in the Era of Cyberspace, NASA Lewis Symposium, Cleveland, Ohio, March 30, 1993. (invited by Geoff Landis)

Why Aren't Computers Useful, Yet, World Economic Forum 1993 Annual Meeting, technical panel discussion with Leon Cooper and Marvin Minsky, Davos, Switzerland, February 2, 1993. (invited by Maria Cattaui)

Robots in Gridspace, Computer Science Departmental Seminar, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada, October 19, 1992. (invited by Mike Shepherd)

The Universal Robot, APICS presentation, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada, October 17, 1992. (invited by Arthur Sedgwick)

The Emperor's New Mind, British Channel 4 interview concerning Roger Penrose book, London, England, September 24, 1992. (invited by Ian Bostrich)

How we will build a machine that thinks, Panel presentation, Thinking Machines Corp., Cambridge, MA, August 24, 1992. (invited by Kurt Thearing)

Robots in Gridspace, Thinking Machines Scientific Seminar, Thinking Machines Corp., Cambridge, MA, August 4, 1992. (invited by Gary Drescher)

Pigs in Cyberspace, LITA president's program presentation, American Library Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, June 29, 1992. (invited by Milton Wolf)

Learned Sensor Models for Mobile Robots, Naval Research Laboratory AI Seminar, NCRAI, NRL, Washington, DC, May 4, 1992. (invited by Alan Meyrowitz)

The Universal Robot, Public Lecture at Whitney Museum, New York, March 18, 1992. (invited by Jeanette Vuocolo)

Time Travel and Computing, Presentation at Roland Institute SNAC seminar, Cambridge, Massachusetts, February 14, 1992. (invited by Kurt Thearing)

Mind Without Body, Presentation to CULTEC, culture and technology conference of the Wissenschafts Zentrum Nordhein-Westfalen, Essen, Germany, November 22, 1991. (invited by Gert Kaiser)

Future Manipulators, ONR Workshop on Novel Actuators for Robotics, Alexandria, VA, November 4, 1991. (invited by Teresa McMullin)

The Universal Robot, "New Century Lecture" at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, October 24, 1991. (invited by Ron Arkin)

Learning Sensor Models, technical presentation to Computer Science and Robotics groups at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, October 24, 1991. (invited by Ron Arkin)

Mind Children, Author lecture at Border's bookstore, Pittsburgh, PA, October 21, 1991. (invited by Joanne Loebig)

Robot Future, "Science Fiction" Lecture at Microelectronics and Computer Research Corporation, Austin, TX, October 10, 1991, also at Armadillocon panel, October 11, 1991. (invited by Wendy Wheeler)

Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence, Live Austrian television interview by Peter Waibel including Nelson Max and Karl Sims, September 13, 1991. (invited by Peter Waibel)

The Universal Robot, Lecture at "Ars Electronica 91", Linz, Austria, September 11, 1991. (invited by Gottfried Hattinger)

Caution! Robot Vehicle!, John McCarthy Festschrift Symposium, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, September 6, 1991. (invited by Vladimir Lifschitz)

The Future of Robots, National Youth Science Camp presentation, Bartow, West Virginia, July 9, 1991. (invited by Kathryn Burgess)

The Universal Robot, Electrical and Computer Engineering Seminar, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, April 25, 1991. (invited by David Greve)

The Universal Robot, CMU/Pitt Sigma Xi initiation lecture, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, April 10, 1991. (invited by Beth Toor)

The Universal Robot, "Frontiers of Artificial Intelligence" Public Lecture Series, Hartford Graduate Center and Trinity College, Hartford, CT, February 20, 1991. (invited by Ralph Morelli)

Is Humanity Obsolete?, Student Pugwash Roundtable Discussion, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, February 12, 1991. (invited by Stuart Shapiro)

Robots, Mike Pintak show (interview and callers), KDKA Radio, Pittsburgh, PA, February 5, 1991. (invited by Gregg Jena)

Robot Evolution, GTE Lecturship Series, Honors Program, Western State College of Colorado, Gunnison, Colorado, January 22, 1991. (invited by Martin Apley)

Artificial Intelligence?, joint TV interview with Roger Penrose, on CBS news program Nightwatch, Washington, D.C., January 4, 1991 (broadcast January 7). (invited by Mark Shaffer)

Sonar Interpretation, graduate robotics class in Mobile Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University, October 29, 1990. (invited by Martial Hebert)

The Universal Robot, New York Library public lecture, New York, NY, November 27, 1990. (invited by David Cronin)

Omega Point Theory, physics seminar class, and The Universal Robot, mathematics department public lecture, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, November 15-16, 1990. (invited by Frank Tipler)

Where Are We Going?, 25th anniversary symposium of the Stanford Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, November 10, 1990. (invited by Ed Feigenbaum)

The Universal Robot - 2000:2040, Autodesk, Inc. company lecture, Sausalito, CA, November 8, 1990. (invited by Marc LeBrun)

Breaking Points, Thomas More Institute 45th anniversary seminar, Montreal, Quebec, November 2-3, 1990. (invited by Elaine Cahn)

Sonar Interpretation, graduate robotics class in Perception, Carnegie Mellon University, October 29, 1990. (invited by Chuck Thorpe)

The Universal Robot, CMU Robotics public seminar, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, October 12, 1990. (invited by Mike Erdman)

Robot Evolution 2000:2040, Robot Olympics "Masterclass", Turing Institute, Glasgow, Scotland, September 27, 1990. (invited by Peter Mowforth)

Mobile Robot Laboratory, "immigration" course given to new PhD students, CMU, August 30, 1990.

Robots, National Youth Science Camp presentation, Bartow, West Virginia, July 11, 1990. (invited by Betsy Hutchison)

Robot Evolution, Carnegie Mellon Greater Pittsburgh Clan (alumni organization), CMU Robotics Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, May 18, 1990. (invited by Jim Osborne)

It's 2040, Do You Know What Your Children Are?, Cooper-Hewitt Museum public debate with Hubert Dreyfus, moderated by Robert Malone, New York, NY, May 29, 1990. (invited by Susan Yelavich)

Robot Evolution, computer science invited lecture, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, April 26, 1990. (invited by Charles Ling and Charles Dunham)

Robot Evolution, distinguished lecture, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, CA, April 26, 1990. (invited by Marvin Theimer)

Mind Children, Associated Students public lecture, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, April 25, 1990. (invited by Matt Cryer)

Robot Spatial Awareness, Mechanical Engineering seminar, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, April 25, 1990. (invited by Prof. Nakamura)

Robot Evolution, Mechanical Engineering Department distinguished lecture, Penn State University, State College, PA, April 12, 1990. (invited by John Gardner)

The Future of Robots, Student Conference on Technology, David L. Lawrence convention center, Pittsburgh, PA, April 3, 1990. (invited by F. Robert McMurray)

Technological Outlook, response to Herb Simon address and panel discussion, Fifth Regional Science and Technolo Symposium, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA, March 9, 1990. (invited by Harry Paxton)

Robots and the Future, student society lecture, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, February 22, 1990. (invited by Billye Potts)

Artificial Intelligence and Ethics, debate with Joseph Weizenbaum, Villanova University, Philadelphia, PA, February 20, 1990. (invited by Terrence Erdt)

Robots in the 21st Century, TV interview on CBS news program Face the Nation, Washington, D.C., December 31, 1989. (invited by Karen Sughrue)

Robots in the Coming Decades, presentation given to Diebold Research managers, John Diebold residence, White Plains, NY, October 16, 1989. (invited by Tony DiRomualdo)

The Future of Robots, presentation given to the 2nd Annual Pittsburgh SF Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, September 16, 1989. (invited by Kevin Riley)

Mobile Robot Laboratory, "immigration" course given to new PhD students, CMU, September 6, 1989.

Real Robots, Presented at the 50th anniversary World Science Fiction Convention, Boston, Massachusetts, September 3, 1989.

Robots and the Future, presented at the 10th anniversary 3 rivers gathering of the Western Pennsylvania Mensa, September 2, 1989.

Mind Children, Presented to the Unitarian-Universalist Church of the North Hills, Pittsburgh, PA, July 23, 1989. (invited by Tom Ammons and Harriet Armstrong)

Robots, National Youth Science Camp presentation, Bartow, West Virginia, July 17, 1989. (invited by Betsy Hutchison)

The Future Evolution of Robots, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, May 18, 1989. (invited by Zvi Roth)

Grandfather Clause, lecture for course in ethics in computing, Carnegie Mellon University, April 27, 1989. (invited by Leslie Burkholder)

Robotics Future, (interview), Pittsburgh Today, KDKA Television, Pittsburgh, PA, April 27, 1989. (invited by Leta Bowe)

Mind Children, (interview), Australian Broadcasting Company radio, recorded at WQED-FM Pittsburgh, April 17, 1989. (invited by Peter Fry)

A Bayesian Method for Certainty Grids, AAAI 1989 Spring Symposium Series, Robot Navigation Symposium, Stanford, CA, March 29, 1989.

Mind Children, 1988 Spring Book and Author lecture series, Kaufmann's Department store, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1989. (invited by Sylvia Sachs)Mind Children (interview), Lifetime, CTV Television Network, Toronto, Canada, March 16, 1989. (broadcast March 17&18, 1989). (invited by Bonnie Lafave)

Human Culture: A Genetic Takeover, Princeton Cognitive Studies Series, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, February 27, 1989. (invited by Walter Wallace)

Intelligent Robots and the Human Future, 1989 Hull Memorial Lecture, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, February 7, 1989. (invited by Lance Schachterle).

Spatial Awareness for Mobile Robots, Distinguished lecture, School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, November 16, 1988. (invited by Kamal Gupta).

Spatial Awareness for Robots, United Technologies Optical Systems Division, West Palm Beach, Florida, February 19, 1988. (invited by Paul Weiss)

Certainty Grids, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, February 18, 1988. (invited by Zvi Roth)

The Certainty Grid Representation for Robot Navigation, Mars Rover Study Group, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, November 8, 1987. (invited by Red Whittaker)

Robots: A Recapitulation of Life, Boston Computer Museum public lecture, Boston, Massachusetts, November 1, 1987. (invited by Oliver Strimpel)

Sensor Fusion in Certainty Grids, NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Sensor Devices and Systems for Robotics, S'Agaro, Spain, October 23, 1987. (invited by Alicia Casals)

Human Culture: A Genetic Takeover Underway, Symposium on Artificial Life, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, September 22, 1987. (invited by Chris Langton)

Robots: Life All Over Again, National Youth Science Camp presentation, Bartow, West Virginia, July 1, 1987. (invited by Betsy Hutchison)

Rover Sensor Fusion, NASA/JPL Workshop on the Mars Rover, Pasadena, California, April 29, 1987. (invited by Brian Wilcox)

Space Representation for Mobile Robots, Computer Science Department, University of Pennsylvania, April 23, 1987. (invited by Ruzena Bajcsy)

Nanotechnology and Artificial Intelligence, Sixth Annual Space Development Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, March 28, 1987. (invited by Eric Drexler)

Fifteen Years of Mobile Robots, Computer Science Department, University of Western Ontario, March 13, 1987. (invited by A. K. Dewdney)

AI from the Bottom Up, CMU Artificial Intelligence Seminar, CMU, March 3, 1987. (invited by Mark Fox)

Certainty Grids for Mobile Robots, NASA/JPL Space Telerobotics Workshop, January 22, 1987. (invited by Raj Doshi)

Mobile Robots and General Intelligence, 1986 MIT Sea Grant Lecture and Seminar and Wallace Lecture, Undersea Teleoperators and Intelligent Autonomous Vehicles, MIT, Cambridge, MA, October 22-23, 1986. (invited by Norm Doelling)

More Than Robot: Robotics, Intelligence and the Future, at the Annual Sigma Xi Awards Banquet, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, April 16, 1986. (invited by Mary Lou Zanich)

Dualism from Reductionism, at The International Symposium on AI and the Human Mind, Yale University, New Haven, CT, March 1-3, 1986. (invited by Roy Varghese)

The CMU Rovers, Vision and Sonar, presentation to the Yale Electrical Engineering Dept., February 28, 1986. (invited by Vladimir Lumelsky)

Mobile Robots, Intelligence and the Future, at the Industrial Affiliates Symposium on Mobile Robots, Robotics Institute, CMU, September, 1985. (invited by Raj Reddy)

Three Degrees for a Mobile Robot, at the ASME Conference on Computers in Engineering, Las Vegas, Nevada, August, 1984.

Mobile Robots: Basic Research, at the Workshop on Autonomous Ground Vehicles, Xerox International Center, Leesburg, VA, October 25, 1983. (invited presentation)

Locomotion, Vision and Intelligence, at the First International Symposium of Robotics Research, Bretton Woods, N.H., August 1983. (invited presentation)

Robots and the Future, discussion on ABC TV News program The Last Word, March 21, 1983. (invited by Debbie Dunn)

The CMU Rover, at AAAI-82, the second national artificial intelligence conference, Pittsburgh, August 18-20, 1982.

Rover Visual Obstacle Avoidance, at IJCAI-7, the Seventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Vancouver, British Columbia, August 1981.

3D Graphics and the Wave Theory, at the 1981 Siggraph conference, Dallas, Texas, August 1981.

Obstacle Avoidance and Navigation in the Real World by a Seeing Robot Rover, Ph.D. thesis defense, Stanford University, Stanford CA, March 15, 1980.

A Non-Synchronous Orbital Skyhook, Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, CA, February 1, 1978. (invited by Roy Basler)

A Non-Synchronous Orbital Skyhook, at the 23rd Annual meeting of the American Astronautical Society, San Francisco, CA, October 19, 1977.

A Lisp-like Language Based on Variably Sized List Elements, Master's thesis defense, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, August, 1971.