Jeremy Urann

Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Oregon State University

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Jeremy Urann is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics, performance art, and human-robot interaction. His work fundamentally explores how robots can operate gracefully in unpredictable, real-world social settings—specifically, live theater. Urann’s major contribution lies in his systematic analysis of robot failures during public performances. In his most cited work, "The Robot Show Must Go On: Effective Responses to Robot Failures" (13 citations), he dissects two full-scale robot theater productions, revealing that how a robot fails is often more critical to audience perception than the failure itself. This research provides a practical framework for designing robots that can recover from errors in a socially acceptable manner. His companion study, "Dancing with ChairBots" (5 citations), documents a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between a theater artist and the CHARISMA Robotics Lab at Oregon State University, where ChairBots and human performers co-created three-week performance pieces. By treating the stage as a living laboratory, Urann has established a novel methodology for stress-testing robotic systems, directly informing the design of more resilient and socially intelligent robots for service, entertainment, and collaborative environments.