Bill Smart
Papers
2
Total Citations
16
H-Index
2
About
Bill Smart is a leading voice in human-robot interaction, with a sharp focus on the critical, often overlooked, role of operator trust. His work explores how trust—or the lack thereof—shapes the deployment of mobile robots across sectors from defense and healthcare to transportation. In his influential 2004 paper, "How to trust robots further than we can throw them," Smart challenged the field to move beyond technical capability and address the human factors that determine whether a robot is actually used, not just built. This work, cited 14 times, remains a foundational touchstone for researchers grappling with the gap between robotic potential and real-world adoption. Smart is also a dedicated educator, sharing hard-won insights in his 2012 paper "Teaching Robotics with ROS," which offers candid advice on curriculum design and the pitfalls of hands-on robotics instruction. By bridging the gap between engineering and psychology, Smart’s contributions remind us that the most sophisticated robot is useless if its human partner doesn’t trust it to act.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1How to trust robots further than we can throw them14 citations · 2004
- 2Teaching Robotics with ROS: Experiences, Suggestions, and Tales of Woe2 citations · 2012