Dr Kathleen Richardson

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow

Department of Anthropology

Room 229

University College London

14 Taviton St

London WC1H OBW

+44 (0) 2076798781


kathlen.richardson@ucl.ac.uk


http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/staff/k_richardson/index


 

 

Kathleen and Cog

 

 ROBOT ANTHROPOLOGY


Research Interests

My postdoctoral research will be a study of special kinds of robots for the therapeutic assistance for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These robots are termed social and humanoid. Robotic machines and persons with ASD are said to lack social capacities – yet I will follow their interactions in the clinical and lab spaces in the UK and US. Studies have suggested that the mere presence of a humanoid robot can enhance the social capacities of persons with ASD. This presents an interesting issue for anthropological theorizing of the social – what does it mean to be social? Who or what can or cannot be said to have it?


My British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship builds on research completed for my PhD in the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge where I studied the making of human-like and social robots at MIT. And for the last two years I have also conducted research on social networking particularly Facebook.


I completed my doctoral studies in the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge and conducted fieldwork in robotics labs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). My thesis, 'Annihilating Difference? Robots and Building Design at MIT' examined relationalities between humans and nonhumans through a study of robots and buildings on the MIT campus.


I am alumni of Corpus Christi College.



More About Me

In May 2006, I produced the play R.U.R (Rossum’s Universal Robots)

written by Karel Čapek (1921) and the source of the first robots.

I am also a freelance writer and have contributed to a number of publications including The New Scientist and The Times Higher Educational Supplement.

I conducted fieldwork on Facebook and continue to develop work in this area. was BT-sponsored and examined how users construct and organize their

sociality through online social networking technologies. I am also a keen amateur photographer.


The Future

I am really going to get round to updating this site as soon as I get a chance! In the meantime you can read some of my published articles on robotics and popular culture below.


Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like further information regarding my research.



 

 


ARTICLES AND REVIEWS

WALL-E FILM REVIEW

SEX, LOVE AND ROBOTS BOOK REVIEW

MY FRIEND THE ROBOT

ROBOTS ARE OUR FRIENDS?

THE STATA CENTRE AND TECHNOLOGY BUILDING DESIGN

I, ROBOT FILM REVIEW

HOME HELP

HUMANOID ROBOTS

 

SELECTED PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

ROBOTS RIGHTS AT THE DANA CENTRE

RISING STARS

I ROBOT

 

SELECTED CONFERENCE TALKS

BSHS 4 SOCIETIES MEETING 2008

THE THINKING MACHINE 2008

SWISS STS SCIENCE MEETING 2008

MACHINE CONSCIOUSNES SYMPOSIUM 2006


IN THE PRESS

NEW YORK TIMES

THE NEW ATLANTIS

RADIO PRAGUE

85 YEARS OF THE ROBOT

SEGWAY ROBOT

MIT DEVELOPS ROBOTS ASSISITANT


PAST PROJECTS AND MORE INFORMATION

THE FIRST ROBOTS

ROBOTS TODAY

THE CAMBRIDGE ROBOT PROJECT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 Page updated July 2008 –

I am currently trying to update my webpage but it has been a very long time.

Please be patient with me J


 
Page created in October 2003