William G. Kennedy
United States Naval Research Laboratory, United States Department of the Navy
Papers
5
Total Citations
139
H-Index
4
About
William G. Kennedy is a leading researcher at the intersection of cognitive architectures and human-robot teamwork. His work centers on enabling robots to function as effective, intuitive teammates by modeling human-like reasoning and social cognition. A key contribution is his exploration of spatial representation and reasoning for collaboration, demonstrating that robot navigation systems are insufficient for higher-level teamwork. Instead, Kennedy champions the "Like-Me" simulation framework, a cognitively plausible approach where robots use their own mental models to simulate a human partner's intentions and capabilities. This work, published in top venues and accumulating over 60 citations, directly addresses the challenge of shared mental models in human-robot teams. By integrating mental simulation into the ACT-R cognitive architecture, Kennedy has shown how robots can predict teammate behavior, adapt to absences, and improve joint task performance. His research not only advances artificial intelligence but also provides a principled, psychologically grounded path toward more natural and effective human-robot collaboration.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Spatial representation and reasoning for human-robot collaboration60 citations · 2007
- 2
- 3Incorporating mental simulation for a more effective robotic teammate14 citations · 2008
- 4Using Simulations to Model Shared Mental Models10 citations · 2007
- 5