Note: Rachael Burns has transitioned from the institute (alumni).
Rachael Bevill Burns joined the Haptic Intelligence Department in 2017 as a Whitaker International Fellow. She successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in February 2024. Her doctoral work focused on developing a Haptic Empathetic Robot Animal for Children with Autism (HERA). Rachael's research addresses human-robot interaction from multiple angles, including building novel robot tactile sensors, creating believable and intelligent robot emotions, and investigating robot design for target populations.
Rachael earned her Bachelor and Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering at the George Washington University in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Rachael conducted her graduate research in socially assistive robotics with Dr. Chung Hyuk Park in the Assistive Robotics and Telemedicine (ART-Med) Lab at GW.
Rachael was named a 2021 HRI Pioneer and a 2023 RSS Pioneer for her work on HERA. She also attended the 2021 Rising Star Workshop by the Center for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop and was selected to participate in the 2022 Gordon Research Summit on the Future of Robotics: Possibilities for Transforming Healthcare.
In January 2025, Rachael will join the University of Tennessee Knoxville as an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Photo by Axel Griesch
Online Articles
- "Robots with a gentle hand". January 2022. In English and German versions. The magazine MaxPlanckResearch published an article focusing on the ongoing human-robot interaction in the Haptic Intelligence lab. Rachael’s work on HERA is featured alongside two other robots. The Detektor.fm podcast also summarized the article.
- Alumni Highlight: August 2020. Rachael is featured in the Alumni Highlights section of the GW Biomedical Engineering Annual Newsletter.
- "RO-MAN 2016: Robots as furniture builders and caretakers". August 2016. In German. This article highlights talks given at the 2016 Workshop on Behavior Adaptation, Interaction and Learning for Assistive Robotics (BAILAR) at Columbia University in New York. Rachael presented her research studying the impacts of music, imitative play, and robots on children with autism.
The Pelton Competition for Outstanding Senior Project: Rachael's team received 3rd place out of the senior student body for their work. An article from the 2016 Edition of GW Synergy describes the competition in greater detail (article can be found on magazine page 17).
Invited Talks
In April 2019, Rachael gave two invited lectures at the FIRST Robotics Championship in Houston, Texas.
- Her first talk, entitled "My friend, the robot: An introduction to human-robot interaction", was attended by roughly 30 highschoolers and their robotics team mentors.
- Her second talk, "Baymax in real life: An introduction to socially assistive robotics", hosted a full audience of roughly 80 attendees.
Social Media Highlights
- Can you find HERA? Rachael and her robot friend make a quick cameo appearance in a promotional video by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts in December 2020.
- A post featuring Rachael's work sewing a sensor suit for HERA was shared on the MPI-IS Facebook page in November 2018.
Recognitions
- Congressman Frank Guinta of New Hampshire commended Rachael during a U.S. House general session in 2015. Video and transcript versions (center-top of first page) available.
- 2017 Whitaker International Fellow - Award page.
Conference Talk: Users Prefer Robots with Emotional Reactions to Touch and Ambient Moods
Rachael's presentation for the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Communication (ROMAN). Rachael presented her manuscript entitled, "Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve: Users Prefer Robots with Emotional Reactions to Touch and Ambient Moods".
Workshop Talk: Lifelong Learning and Personalization in Long-Term HRI
Rachael's presentation and Q&A segment at the 2023 HRI Workshop on Lifelong Learning and Personalization in Long-Term Human-Robot Interaction (LEAP-HRI). Her talk was entitled, "A Lasting Impact: Using Second-Order Dynamics to Customize the Continuous Emotional Expression of a Social Robot".
Workshop Talk: Increasing Safety for HRI using Tactile and Proximity Perception
Rachael's presentation and Q&A segment at the 2021 IROS Workshop on Proximity Perception: Increasing Safety for Human-Robot Interaction using Tactile and Proximity Perception. Her talk was entitled, "Teaching Safe Social Touch Interactions Using a Robot Koala".
Promotional Video: HRI Pioneers 2021
Rachael's promotional video advertising her presentation for the HRI Pioneers Workshop. Pioneers is a full-day educational and networking opportunity for emerging student leaders in the human-robot interaction (HRI) research community.
Workshop Talk: Enriching HRI Research with Qualitative Methods
Rachael presented a short talk at the 2020 ICSR Workshop on Enriching HRI Research with Qualitative Methods. Rachael describes how the team structured their interviews and utilized thematic analysis so that autism specialists could contribute to the technical specifications of their ideal robot assistant without needing an engineering background.
Documentary: Smart with Heart - The Human Face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
A program produced in March 2017 by the Arirang TV documentary series, Arirang Special. This episode highlights the work being done by researchers across the globe to improve quality of life using robotics and assistive technology. Rachael and her colleagues at the ART-Med lab are featured in the video from 6:52-11:52. (Robert Downey Jr. makes an appearance immediately afterward!)
Business Pitch: The Pelton Competition for Outstanding Senior Project
A fifteen minute business-pitch from Rachael and her teammates explaining their undergraduate capstone project in 2015. The group's presentation begins at 13:15. Rachael's team received 3rd place out of the entire engineering senior class for their work on an improved communication device for nonverbal special needs children.
Political Outreach: Congressman Frank Guinta recognizes Rachael Bevill
Congressman Frank Guinta of New Hampshire commends Rachael for her leadership and biomedical engineering focus during a U.S. House general session. As the 2015 New Hampshire Cherry Blossom Princess, Rachael served as a goodwill ambassador in Washington DC, meeting with international ambassadors and elected officials. Studying engineering in DC inspired Rachael to pursue research with both disability advocacy and regulatory law in mind.