Social Robotics Professor & Human-Robot Interaction Expert; Founder of Marilyn Monrobot; TED Speaker
Dr. Heather Knight Biography
Dr. Heather Knight is a professor of computer science and robotics at Oregon State University, specializing in social robotics. Knight's research focuses on human-robot interaction, nonverbal machine communications, and non-anthropomorphic social robots. At Oregon State, her CHARISMA research group applies methods from entertainment to advance the development of social robots, with interests spanning minimal social robots, robot ethics, charismatic machines, and multi-robot and multi-human social interaction.
Knight earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, where she collaborated with Cynthia Breazeal on projects including a touch-sensitive skin for Huggable, an interactive teddy bear, and the Cyberflora garden project. She later received a second master's degree and a doctorate in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. Knight's professional experience includes roles as a research associate at NASA Ames, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, and work in robotics and instrumentation at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has also contributed to interactive installations with Syyn Labs and sensor design at Aldebaran Robotics.
A notable project in Knight's portfolio is DATA, a humanoid robot stand-up comedian. She programmed DATA with jokes and equipped the robot with sensors and algorithms to manage timing and gauge audience response, enabling adaptive performances. Knight and DATA toured internationally with their robot stand-up comedy act, including a presentation at a TED conference. Her TED Talk, "Silicon-Based Comedy," introduced her work to a global audience and highlighted her contributions at the intersection of robotics, artificial intelligence, and performance.
Knight's installations have been featured at institutions such as Smithsonian-Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, LACMA, SIGGRAPH, PopTech, and Fortezza da Basso in Florence, Italy. In addition to her academic work, Knight founded and leads the robot theater company Marilyn Monrobot, organizes the annual Robot Film Festival, and produces robot comedy performances. She has been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science and AdWeek Top 100 Creatives. Knight is known for her ability to communicate complex topics in robotics, ethics, and human-machine relationships to diverse audiences, contributing to ongoing discussions about technology and society.
Dr. Heather Knight Speaking Topics
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Charismatic Machines
Assisted by her pint-sized robot comedian, Heather Knight will lead you through a crash course of social robotics. From call centers to mobile robots, we have emotional reactions and apply social conventions to machines. By adapting strategies from physical theater, Knight researches how robots can communicate nonverbally, identifying motion characteristics and behaviors that non-anthropomorphic robots can use to interact with us successfully and charismatically. Knight and ?Data? offer a one-of-a-kind robot-human interaction that is both humorous and engaging.
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Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Dr. Heather Knight for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Dr. Heather Knight, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Dr. Heather Knight or any other speaker of your choice. -
What are the speaker fees for Dr. Heather Knight
Speaking fees for Dr. Heather Knight, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Dr. Heather Knight are under $10,000 for live events and under $10,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Dr. Heather Knight, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent. -
What topics does Dr. Heather Knight speak about?
Dr. Heather Knight is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Artificial Intelligence, Celebrity, Communication, Computer Science, Disruptive Thinking, Energy, Engineering, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Ethics & Integrity, Futurism, Innovation, Marketing, Music, Non-Profit, Professors, Research & Exploration, Robotics, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Media, Social Sciences, STEM, Technology, Women in Tech -
Where does Dr. Heather Knight travel from?
Dr. Heather Knight generally travels from Austin, TX, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent. -
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Dr. Heather Knight is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Charismatic Machines. The estimated speaking fee range to book Dr. Heather Knight for your event is available upon request. Dr. Heather Knight generally travels from Austin, TX, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Peter Zelinski, Jana Eggers, Amber Case, Hava Siegelmann and Jordan P. Evans. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Dr. Heather Knight for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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