Aaron Steinfeld

Aaron Steinfeld is a Research Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute with a courtesy appointment in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute. His work bridges human-robot interaction and advanced transportation, focusing on inclusive design for users with disabilities.

• PhD in Industrial and Operations Engineering (1999) and MSE/BSE in the same field (1994/1993) from University of Michigan
• Postdoctoral work in Transportation Human Factors at UC Berkeley's California PATH program (2000)

Research spans four key areas:

• Assistive Robotics: Developing inclusive technologies for visually impaired and disabled users
• Transportation Innovation: Redesigning transit systems through crowdsourcing and citizen science
• Human-Robot Group Dynamics: Studying social navigation and multi-robot coordination
• Trust & Communication: Creating frameworks for robot self-assessment and user trust alignment

Recent publications emphasize social navigation benchmarks, pedestrian behavior modeling, and adaptive transit interfaces. Current projects include accessible delivery robots (NIDILRR 90IFDV0042) and FHWA-funded work on autonomous vehicle accessibility.

Scientific Recognition

• NSF AI Institute (AI-CARING) co-PI
• ONR MURI grant recipient
• DARPA and multiple NSF grant collaborations
• Best Paper awards at CHI 2019 and IROS 2020

Advising both PhD and Master's students in human-robot interaction, his lab maintains partnerships with Georgia Tech, UMass Lowell, and Disney Research. He co-edited the book Accessible Public Transportation.