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Reid Simmons Wins Allen Newell Medal for Research Excellence
Throughout his career, Simmons has made extraordinary contributions to the field of autonomous robotics and helped change the world of artificial intelligence. His research focuses on developing fully autonomous robots that function for long periods of time in natural, social environments. Some of those robots include Xavier, which navigated the hallways of Carnegie Mellon's Wean Hall, and Nomad, the robot that searched for meteorites in Antarctica.
This year, Simmons furthered Newell's goal of making science "respond to real phenomena or real problems" by creating socially interactive robots. One of them, Valerie, sits in the main entrance of Newell-Simon hall and acts as the "roboceptionist" for SCS. Valerie talks to guests, answers questions and acts much like a human receptionist. Grace, another Simmons creation, talks about herself and navigates through buildings and crowded areas. Both "ladies" have made headlines for the technological breakthroughs they represent in autonomous robotics.
Simmons received the award at the SCS diploma ceremony in May.
Rebecca Steinberg
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