Dr. Justin W. Hart, Ph.D.

Professor at UT Austin specializing in artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction

Research Interests

Artificial Intelligence

Human-Robot Interaction

Philosophy

Control and Systems Engineering

Social Psychology

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Human-Computer Interaction

Biomedical Engineering

Computer Science Applications

Mechanical Engineering

Control and Optimization

Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition

About

My research focuses on expanding the places where robots can be deployed. My lab, the Living with Robots Laboratory, has the mission of seeing robots in every home and workplace. To that end, I work on technologies to enable robots to operate in places designed for people, and technologies to enable robots to better interact with people. I am on the executive committee for RoboCup@Home. I am an assistant director of the UT Austin robotics research consortium, Texas Robotics. I am an associate editor for top conferences and journals in robotics. I work on problems relating to autonomous social human robot interaction, artificial intelligence, and robotics architectures.

Publications

The Benefits of Interactions with Physically Present Robots over Video-Displayed Agents

International Journal of Social Robotics / Oct 16, 2010

Bainbridge, W. A., Hart, J. W., Kim, E. S., & Scassellati, B. (2010). The Benefits of Interactions with Physically Present Robots over Video-Displayed Agents. International Journal of Social Robotics, 3(1), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-010-0082-7

The effect of presence on human-robot interaction

RO-MAN 2008 - The 17th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication / Aug 01, 2008

Bainbridge, W. A., Hart, J., Kim, E. S., & Scassellati, B. (2008). The effect of presence on human-robot interaction. RO-MAN 2008 - The 17th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication. https://doi.org/10.1109/roman.2008.4600749

No fair!! An interaction with a cheating robot

2010 5th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) / Mar 01, 2010

Short, E., Hart, J., Vu, M., & Scassellati, B. (2010). No fair!! An interaction with a cheating robot. 2010 5th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). https://doi.org/10.1109/hri.2010.5453193

Improving Grounded Natural Language Understanding through Human-Robot Dialog

2019 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) / May 01, 2019

Thomason, J., Padmakumar, A., Sinapov, J., Walker, N., Jiang, Y., Yedidsion, H., Hart, J., Stone, P., & Mooney, R. J. (2019). Improving Grounded Natural Language Understanding through Human-Robot Dialog. 2019 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). https://doi.org/10.1109/icra.2019.8794287

QBF Modeling: Exploiting Player Symmetry for Simplicity and Efficiency

Lecture Notes in Computer Science / Jan 01, 2006

Sabharwal, A., Ansotegui, C., Gomes, C. P., Hart, J. W., & Selman, B. (2006). QBF Modeling: Exploiting Player Symmetry for Simplicity and Efficiency. Theory and Applications of Satisfiability Testing - SAT 2006, 382–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/11814948_35

Improving Grounded Natural Language Understanding through Human-Robot Dialog

2019 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) / May 01, 2019

Jointly Improving Parsing and Perception for Natural Language Commands through Human-Robot Dialog

Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research / Feb 26, 2020

Thomason, J., Padmakumar, A., Sinapov, J., Walker, N., Jiang, Y., Yedidsion, H., Hart, J., Stone, P., & Mooney, R. (2020). Jointly Improving Parsing and Perception for Natural Language Commands through Human-Robot Dialog. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 67, 327–374. https://doi.org/10.1613/jair.1.11485

Socially CompliAnt Navigation Dataset (SCAND): A Large-Scale Dataset of Demonstrations for Social Navigation

IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters / Oct 01, 2022

Karnan, H., Nair, A., Xiao, X., Warnell, G., Pirk, S., Toshev, A., Hart, J., Biswas, J., & Stone, P. (2022). Socially CompliAnt Navigation Dataset (SCAND): A Large-Scale Dataset of Demonstrations for Social Navigation. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 7(4), 11807–11814. https://doi.org/10.1109/lra.2022.3184025

Passive Demonstrations of Light-Based Robot Signals for Improved Human Interpretability

2018 27th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) / Aug 01, 2018

Fernandez, R., John, N., Kirmani, S., Hart, J., Sinapov, J., & Stone, P. (2018). Passive Demonstrations of Light-Based Robot Signals for Improved Human Interpretability. 2018 27th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN). https://doi.org/10.1109/roman.2018.8525728

Open-World Reasoning for Service Robots

Proceedings of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling / May 25, 2021

Jiang, Y., Walker, N., Hart, J., & Stone, P. (2021). Open-World Reasoning for Service Robots. Proceedings of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling, 29, 725–733. https://doi.org/10.1609/icaps.v29i1.3541

Mirror Perspective-Taking with a Humanoid Robot

Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence / Sep 20, 2021

Hart, J., & Scassellati, B. (2021). Mirror Perspective-Taking with a Humanoid Robot. Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 26(1), 1990–1996. https://doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v26i1.8389

Epipolar Geometry for Humanoid Robotic Heads

Cognitive Vision / Jan 01, 2008

Hart, J., Scassellati, B., & Zucker, S. W. (2008). Epipolar Geometry for Humanoid Robotic Heads. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92781-5_3

Effects related to synchrony and repertoire in perceptions of robot dance

Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Human-robot interaction / Mar 06, 2011

Avrunin, E., Hart, J., Douglas, A., & Scassellati, B. (2011). Effects related to synchrony and repertoire in perceptions of robot dance. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1145/1957656.1957678

PRISM: Pose Registration for Integrated Semantic Mapping

2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) / Oct 01, 2018

Hart, J. W., Shah, R., Kirmani, S., Walker, N., Baldauf, K., John, N., & Stone, P. (2018). PRISM: Pose Registration for Integrated Semantic Mapping. 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). https://doi.org/10.1109/iros.2018.8593681

Robotic Self-Modeling

The Computer After Me / Sep 07, 2014

Hart, J. W., & Scassellati, B. (2014). Robotic Self-Modeling. The Computer After Me, 207–218. https://doi.org/10.1142/9781783264186_0014

Watch Where You’re Going! Gaze and Head Orientation as Predictors for Social Robot Navigation

2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) / May 30, 2021

Holman, B., Anwar, A., Singh, A., Tec, M., Hart, J., & Stone, P. (2021). Watch Where You’re Going! Gaze and Head Orientation as Predictors for Social Robot Navigation. 2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). https://doi.org/10.1109/icra48506.2021.9561286

Optimal Use of Verbal Instructions for Multi-robot Human Navigation Guidance

Social Robotics / Jan 01, 2019

Yedidsion, H., Deans, J., Sheehan, C., Chillara, M., Hart, J., Stone, P., & Mooney, R. J. (2019). Optimal Use of Verbal Instructions for Multi-robot Human Navigation Guidance. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 133–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35888-4_13

A robotic model of the Ecological Self

2011 11th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots / Oct 01, 2011

Hart, J. W., & Scassellati, B. (2011). A robotic model of the Ecological Self. 2011 11th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots. https://doi.org/10.1109/humanoids.2011.6100897

Deep R-Learning for Continual Area Sweeping

2020 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) / Oct 24, 2020

Shah, R., Jiang, Y., Hart, J., & Stone, P. (2020). Deep R-Learning for Continual Area Sweeping. 2020 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). https://doi.org/10.1109/iros45743.2020.9341626

A Study of Reaching Motions for Collaborative Human-Robot Interaction

Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics / Jan 01, 2020

Sheikholeslami, S., Lee, G., Hart, J. W., Srinivasa, S., & Croft, E. A. (2020). A Study of Reaching Motions for Collaborative Human-Robot Interaction. Proceedings of the 2018 International Symposium on Experimental Robotics, 584–594. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33950-0_50

Robotic Models of Self

Metareasoning / Mar 18, 2011

Hart, J., & Scassellati, B. (2011). Robotic Models of Self. Metareasoning, 283–294. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262014809.003.0018

Exploring Applications for Autonomous Nonverbal Human-Robot Interaction

Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction / Mar 08, 2021

Hart, J. W., DePalma, N., Pryor, M. W., Hayes, B., Kruusamäe, K., Mirsky, R., & Xiao, X. (2021). Exploring Applications for Autonomous Nonverbal Human-Robot Interaction. Companion of the 2021 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1145/3434074.3444882

Longitudinal Social Impacts of HRI over Long-Term Deployments

2022 17th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) / Mar 07, 2022

Hart, J., Hauser, E., Baker, S., Biswas, J., Jiao, J., & Sentis, L. (2022). Longitudinal Social Impacts of HRI over Long-Term Deployments. 2022 17th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). https://doi.org/10.1109/hri53351.2022.9889565

Prediction and Production of Human Reaching Trajectories for Human-Robot Interaction

Companion of the 2018 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction / Mar 01, 2018

Sheikholeslami, S., Hart, J. W., Chan, W. P., Quintero, C. P., & Croft, E. A. (2018). Prediction and Production of Human Reaching Trajectories for Human-Robot Interaction. Companion of the 2018 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1145/3173386.3176924

Human-Interactive Robot Learning (HIRL)

2022 17th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) / Mar 07, 2022

Mirsky, R., Baraka, K., Faulkner, T. K., Hart, J., Yedidsion, H., & Xiao, X. (2022). Human-Interactive Robot Learning (HIRL). 2022 17th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). https://doi.org/10.1109/hri53351.2022.9889551

Developing Robot Assistants with Communicative Cues for Safe, Fluent HRI

Foundations of Trusted Autonomy / Jan 01, 2018

Hart, J. W., Sheikholeslami, S., Gleeson, B., Croft, E., MacLean, K., Ferrie, F. P., Gosselin, C., & Laurandeau, D. (2018). Developing Robot Assistants with Communicative Cues for Safe, Fluent HRI. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, 247–270. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64816-3_14

Incorporating active vision into the body schema

Proceedings of the 4th ACM/IEEE international conference on Human robot interaction / Mar 09, 2009

Hart, J. W., Avrunin, E. R., Golub, D., Scassellati, B., & Zucker, S. W. (2009). Incorporating active vision into the body schema. Proceedings of the 4th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1145/1514095.1514193

"What’s That Robot Doing Here?": Perceptions Of Incidental Encounters With Autonomous Quadruped Robots

Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems / Jul 11, 2023

Hauser, E., Chan, Y.-C., Chonkar, P., Hemkumar, G., Wang, H., Dua, D., Gupta, S., Enriquez, E. M., Kao, T., Hart, J., Mirsky, R., Biswas, J., Jiao, J., & Stone, P. (2023). “What’s That Robot Doing Here?”: Perceptions Of Incidental Encounters With Autonomous Quadruped Robots. Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems. https://doi.org/10.1145/3597512.3599707

Trustworthy Memory Practices for Better Living and Working with Robots

Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems / Jul 11, 2023

Baker, S., Hauser, E., & Hart, J. (2023). Trustworthy Memory Practices for Better Living and Working with Robots. Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Trustworthy Autonomous Systems. https://doi.org/10.1145/3597512.3597516

2nd Workshop on Human-Interactive Robot Learning (HIRL)

Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction / Mar 13, 2023

Mirsky, R., Baraka, K., Kessler Faulkner, T., Hart, J., Xiao, X., Yedidsion, H., Idrees, I., & Gordon, E. K. (2023). 2nd Workshop on Human-Interactive Robot Learning (HIRL). Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1145/3568294.3579962

Using Human-Inspired Signals to Disambiguate Navigational Intentions

Social Robotics / Jan 01, 2020

Hart, J., Mirsky, R., Xiao, X., Tejeda, S., Mahajan, B., Goo, J., Baldauf, K., Owen, S., & Stone, P. (2020). Using Human-Inspired Signals to Disambiguate Navigational Intentions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 320–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62056-1_27

Education

West Virginia University

BS, Computer Science / May, 2001

Morgantown, West Virginia, United States of America

Ph.D, Computer Science / December, 2014

New Haven, CT, Connecticut, United States of America

Cornell University

M.Eng, Computer Science / January, 2006

Ithaca, New York, United States of America

Experience

The University of Texas at Austin

Assistant Professor of Practice / September, 2017 — Present

University of British Columbia

Postdoctoral Fellow / December, 2014 — December, 2016

The University of Texas at Austin

Postdoctoral Fellow / December, 2016 — September, 2016

University of British Columbia

Visiting Scholar / September, 2013 — December, 2016

Placeholder position until I defended my doctoral thesis

Links & Social Media

Research Web Site

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