Building Dusty Robotics

Construction is one of the largest industries on the planet, employing more than 10M workers in the US each year. Yet construction is also the second least-digitized industry; most of the work is still performed with manual labor, paper-based processes, and methods that haven't changed for millennia. Dusty Robotics believes in a future where robots and automation are standard tools employed by the construction workforce to build buildings more efficiently, safer, and at lower cost. In this talk I'll tell the story of how Dusty Robotics originated, our journey through the customer discovery process, and our vision for how robotics will change the face of construction.

Bio

Dr. Tessa Lau is an experienced entrepreneur with expertise in AI, machine learning, and robotics. She is currently Founder/CEO at Dusty Robotics, whose mission is to improve construction industry productivity by introducing robotic automation on the jobsite. Prior to Dusty, she was CTO/co-founder at Savioke, where she orchestrated the deployment of 75+ delivery robots into hotels and high-rises. Previously, Dr. Lau was a Research Scientist at Willow Garage, where she developed simple interfaces for personal robots. She also spent 11 years at IBM Research working in business process automation and knowledge capture. More generally, Dr. Lau is interested in technology that gives people super-powers, and building businesses that bring that technology into people’s lives. Dr. Lau was recognized as one of the Top 5 Innovative Women to Watch in Robotics by Inc. in 2018. Dr. Lau holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Washington.

Ludic Design For Accessibility

Technology solutions for accessibility have long been created using a narrow utilitarian lens, especially in the Global South, due to multi-dimensional challenges and resource constraints: an emphasis on purely functional outcomes supported by sterile cost-benefit analysis that ignores the fact that people with disability are people first with their own aspirations for leisure and enjoyment in addition to skills and employment. We propose an alternate design methodology called the Ludic Design for Accessibility (LDA) that puts play and playfulness at the center of all assistive technology design and use. We briefly touch upon the challenges of accessibility faced by the huge population of people with vision impairments in India and present our ongoing work with children and teachers in schools for the blind in India, in association with a non-profit, Vision Empower Trust. Though LDA is universally applicable, we highlight the factors that make it especially relevant in the context of accessibility in the Global South.

Bio

Manohar Swaminathan is a Principal researcher at Microsoft Research India. His current research in accessibility is built around Ludic Design for accessibility. a new methodology which puts play and playfulness central to all technology solutions for accessibility: Computational thinking for children with vision impairments, multi-modal interfaces for digital skilling of children with disabilities, and the use of spatial audio to enable people with vision impairments to enjoy AR/VR systems, smartphone games to enable data collection of Indian Sign Language, are some examples of ongoing research.

He is also a founding co-convener of the Center for Accessibility in the Global South at the IIIT-Bangalore. Manohar is an academic-turned technology entrepreneur-turned researcher with a driving passion to build and deploy technology for positive social impact. He has a PhD in CS from Brown University, was a Professor at the Indian Institute of Science, co-founder of PicoPeta Simputers and Strand LifeSciences and has advised, and angel-funded several technology startups in India.

More Human HCI

Technology is interwoven into every aspect of our daily lives and work. It increases harmony when our smartphones, apps, etc. simplify our tasks, yet it increases harm, individually and collectively, when our privacy is violated, our discernment is compromised by disinformation, our opportunities are limited by algorithmic bias or our psychological or physical well-being is decreased by device distraction or social media addiction. These tech harms disproportionately affect some of us more so than others, especially womxn and people of color who are underrepresented within the tech industry. HCI is a common element in tech harmony and tech harm, given it is front and center within the contributing apps, devices and services. What role do we play as HCI researchers, practitioners and employers in mitigating tech harm? What role could we play? This interactive session explores user narratives and eye-opening tech industry events through the fabric of a sustainable disruption framework that we can adopt to not only deliver more human HCI but also greater tech harmony for us all.

Bio

Dr. Melody Ivory is a poet and the first Black woman to earn a PhD in computer science from UC Berkeley with a dissertation that explored the intersection of human-computer interaction and data science to elevate web design. She also holds an MBA from Wharton Business School and a BS in computer science and math with honors from Purdue University.

Dr. Ivory has over two decades of experience in data science and ethics, software technology and tech education across industries and organizations. She’s been a Google innovation facilitator and product manager for consumer electronics and software. She’s an inaugural Bill and Melinda Gates scholar and former University of Washington professor.

She is currently the founder of Thrivafy, a lifestyle technology and pending certified benefit company. At Thrivafy, she’s disrupting the status quo for the marginalized majority with smart solutions to enlighten and empower us all to stop settling — in life, at work and with tech. She's the author of a memoir-exposé coming in 2022 titled “Why Tech Sucks (and How Sustainable Disruption Can #ElevateTechWellness)”.