Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Nicole Robinson is a Lecturer at Monash University in the Faculty of Engineering.
Research: She has created and built up an interdisciplinary research group that specialises across both scientific methods and novel engineering. Her research theme is to evaluate and improve the quality and success of human-robot teamwork. This work involves theoretical and applied human-robot interaction work in domestic and field settings, including for mobile, manipulator, mobile manipulator, humanoid and social robots.
Prior to Monash, she was a Research Fellow with the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision on Humanoid Robotics on a $1.5 million R&D project with the Queensland Government. She was later promoted to become a Chief Investigator (CI) and Program Leader of Human Interaction in the QUT Robotics Centre.
Funding: Throughout her career, she has been a Chief Investigator or Lead Applicant for more than $7.4 million in awarded funds from competitive grants, industry partnerships, and student scholarships.
Teaching: She has led and been involved in the design and implementation of university-level courses. She has been an invited guest lecture to talk on the topics of behavioural science, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship, and human-robot teams. She has also taught 1st to 3rd year level course content to both small-room tutorials and large-scale lecture halls (15 though to 500 students per class).
Public Outreach: She is a strong advocate for public outreach and promoting STEM careers for women. She has a media reach of 40+ million to date across live television, radio, print articles and world-renowned festival stages:
- Tedx, International Business Times, MIT Technology Review, Gizmodo, and the World Science Festival. She has also hosted a postcast on artificial intelligence and robotics available on iTunes and Spotify.
Start-up: She is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of LYRO Robotics Pty Ltd, a deep-tech robotics company that builds and deploys intelligent pick and pack robots for order fufillment. LYRO has successfully commercialised robotics technology in Australia, creating direct benefit and value to the agriculture and warehousing industries.
- In 2020, LYRO Robotics won 1st place in the Unicorn Cup, the worlds largest start-up pitch competition against 2,000 companies from 125 cities.
- LYRO has been supported by venture capital from both national and international investors
Memberships: She is also a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Australian Psychological Society, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, and IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
External positions
Director and Board Member, LYRO Robotics Pty Ltd
Adjunct Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Research area keywords
- Robotics
- Human-Robot Interaction
- Human-Robot Teamwork
- Explainable AI
- Behavioral/Experimental Psychology
- Psychology
- Robot Learning
- Robot Ethics
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Human Centered AI
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Active
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ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing
Lim, Y. Y., Kulic, D., Grundy, J., Batstone, J., Olivier, P., Wilson Rajaratnam, S., Cornish, K., Anderson, C., Klein, B., Browning, C., Pase, M., Abdi, E., Robinson, N., McNaney, R., Srikanth, V., Hill, K., Flynn, D., Callisaya, M., Brusco, N., Carreno-Medrano, P., Cronin, J., Fripp, J., Kothari, N., Toms, M., Browne, E., Neilson, P., Orelowitz, J., Udagedara, I. B., De Chaumont Rambert, C., Haddock, R., Pitt, A., Pearman, A., Lethlean, G., Skye, S., Cai, J., Ayton, D., Jackson, M., Charalambous, G., Little, K. & Cook, A.
Australian Research Council (ARC), Readiness Pty Ltd, Future Wellness Group Holdings Pty Ltd, Aunty Grace Pty Ltd, Andromeda Robotics Holdings Pty Ltd
25/05/23 → 25/05/28
Project: Research
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A review of evaluation practices of gesture generation in embodied conversational agents
Wolfert, P., Robinson, N. & Belpaeme, T., Jun 2022, In: IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems. 52, 3, p. 379-389 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
30 Citations (Scopus) -
Psychosocial health interventions by social robots: systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Robinson, N. L., Cottier, T. V. & Kavanagh, D. J., May 2019, In: Journal of Medical Internet Research. 21, 5, 20 p., e13203.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Other › peer-review
Open AccessFile86 Citations (Scopus) -
Measures of incentives and confidence in using a social robot
Robinson, N. L., Connolly, J., Johnson, G. M., Kim, Y., Hides, L. & Kavanagh, D. J., 22 Aug 2018, In: Science Robotics. 3, 21, 2 p., eaat6963.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Other › peer-review
17 Citations (Scopus) -
A brief wellbeing training session delivered by a humanoid social robot: A pilot randomized controlled trial
Robinson, N. L., Connolly, J., Suddrey, G. & Kavanagh, D. J., May 2024, In: International Journal of Social Robotics. 16, p. 937–951 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Consequential Sounds and Their Effect on Human Robot Interaction
Allen, A., Savery, R. & Robinson, N., 2023, Sound and Robotics: Speech, Non-Verbal Audio and Robotic Musicianship. Savery, R. (ed.). 1st ed. New York NY USA: CRC Press, p. 101-127 27 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
Prizes
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Australian Centre for Robotic Vision - Best Team Award (Humanoid Robotics Group) 2018
Robinson, Nicole (Recipient), 1 Sept 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Australian Centre for Robotic Vision - Contribution to Public Debate Award 2019
Robinson, Nicole (Recipient), 1 Sept 2019
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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TEDxQUT 2018 Speaker
Nicole Robinson (Contributor)
15 Sept 2018Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public outreach
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World Science Festival Presenter
Nicole Robinson (Contributor)
16 Mar 2018Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public outreach
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Pint of Science! Brisbane Presenter
Nicole Robinson (Contributor)
15 May 2018Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public outreach
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Guest Speaker at the Women in Young Women Leaders in AI Camp
Nicole Robinson (Contributor)
12 Apr 2019Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public outreach
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Robotronica Festival Presenter
Nicole Robinson (Contributor)
20 Aug 2017Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public outreach
Press/Media
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ABC Radio (Live) - Brisbane Drive with Steve Austin
14/06/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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ABC Radio (Live) - Sydney Drive with Josh Szeps
6/06/19
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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TODAY Show - The Droid Will See You Now
8/08/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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