Alan Carlin

University of Massachusetts Amherst, Aptima (United States)

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Alan Carlin’s research lies at the intersection of human-robot interaction, multi-agent coordination, and autonomous systems, with a focus on enhancing team performance in high-stakes environments. His most cited work, “Agent-based coordination of human-multirobot teams in complex environments” (8 citations), addresses the critical challenge of room clearing in urban military and police operations. Carlin proposes a framework for coordinating human teams with multiple robots to safely and efficiently search buildings for hostile forces—a problem that remains dangerous and difficult in real-world settings. In his follow-up work, “Multimodal interaction for human-robot teams” (5 citations), he explores how unmanned ground vehicles can support small dismounted teams in tasks such as mapping facilities, maintaining security, and extending reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities. Carlin’s contributions are notable for their practical orientation: he does not merely theorize about human-robot teams but designs systems that integrate autonomous agents directly into the fabric of team operations. His work has implications for defense, law enforcement, and emergency response, where effective human-robot collaboration can save lives. Though his citation counts are modest, Carlin’s research is foundational for those seeking to build real-world, deployable multirobot systems that work seamlessly with human operators.