Kristian Simsarian ❤️

I started at Columbia with a dream of bringing together my several years architecture studio together with my technical ingenuity, combining civil engineering, psychology, computer science and studio architecture along the way. Though I began in architecture, my love for computers and things technical drew me into the most creative area of computer science I could find at the time, artificial intelligence. I emerged with a rare hybrid skill set I would later apply to build smart robots that… Show more

I started at Columbia with a dream of bringing together my several years architecture studio together with my technical ingenuity, combining civil engineering, psychology, computer science and studio architecture along the way. Though I began in architecture, my love for computers and things technical drew me into the most creative area of computer science I could find at the time, artificial intelligence. I emerged with a rare hybrid skill set I would later apply to build smart robots that collaborate with humans in the built environment. Show less

Human-Robot Collaboration.

My thesis was the culmination of over a decade of work building robots that navigate, see and work in collaboration with humans and other robots. This involved experiments in virtual, augmented, and mixed realities, machine learning, gestures, speech and how we can effectively design scalable, collaborative relationships between humans and smart agents.

I worked on three primary challenges. The first is a challenge is how design must shift when… Show more

Human-Robot Collaboration.

My thesis was the culmination of over a decade of work building robots that navigate, see and work in collaboration with humans and other robots. This involved experiments in virtual, augmented, and mixed realities, machine learning, gestures, speech and how we can effectively design scalable, collaborative relationships between humans and smart agents.

I worked on three primary challenges. The first is a challenge is how design must shift when computers become smart. If it is no longer pixels, then we need to design metaphors that become the building blocks for experiential relationships with agents. The second challenge was of integrating imperfect world models with real-world data in a mixed-reality display. The third was about speech and deictic references through a shared world model. I have both excitement and concern with the rise of public AI, as it disrupts broad areas such as mobility, healthcare, agriculture, democracy and beyond. Show less

Working together with a team of psychologists, philosophers, biologists, mathematicians and computer scientists, we explored and researched basic questions in "Strong AI" - what is consciousness and how can we model it? Doing this required exploring the limits of theoretical computation, consciousness, psychology, color perception and smart agents. It was at Chicago that I rekindled my love for art by working with interactive art students from the School of Art Institute Chicago on Interactive… Show more

Working together with a team of psychologists, philosophers, biologists, mathematicians and computer scientists, we explored and researched basic questions in "Strong AI" - what is consciousness and how can we model it? Doing this required exploring the limits of theoretical computation, consciousness, psychology, color perception and smart agents. It was at Chicago that I rekindled my love for art by working with interactive art students from the School of Art Institute Chicago on Interactive behavioral robots. While at Chicago I also realized that instead of making machines smart, I really wanted to focus on making people smarter using machines, thus my switch to HCI and eventually back to design began. Show less

Continuing my quest for action in the real world under digital control, I returned to school and focused on building robots that can navigate using spatial maps, with a focus on what happens when the accuracy of a map degrades. In using my expertise in computational geometry I created several new algorithms to generate robust robot parsable maps that took into account unavoidable factors such as robot drift, calibration and imprecise maps. Together with my advisors we rewrote and published my… Show more

Continuing my quest for action in the real world under digital control, I returned to school and focused on building robots that can navigate using spatial maps, with a focus on what happens when the accuracy of a map degrades. In using my expertise in computational geometry I created several new algorithms to generate robust robot parsable maps that took into account unavoidable factors such as robot drift, calibration and imprecise maps. Together with my advisors we rewrote and published my masters thesis in the IEEE Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition journal. Show less

At Deerfield, I learned the rigors of academic work with world-class humanities, math, science and art teachers. My favorite and best subjects were studio art, architecture, and math. I also learned a bit about how power in the world works by studying alongside future captains of industry and kings of nations.

In this two-year program I learned about humanity, my own and others, and what it means to be a leader that values fellowship over followership.

Wat Suon Mokkh introduced me to ancient practices of mindfulness through a silent retreat that was almost longer than I could bear. This was a catalytic moment on my journey to find a way to lead with compassion and wisdom, bringing together my yoga, meditation, and professional practice. Theravada theories of dependent origination are quite similar to those I had employed in my theories of consciousness in my behavioral-based robotics research.

I founded and led an improvisation group in Stockholm in the 1990's, and while I had taken many workshops, this 10-day workshop with Keith Johnstone was by far the most significant catalyst. Working with Keith solidified my intuitions about what makes improv great for both the player and audience. After this workshop, I decided to bring improvisation into my professional practice which then continued at IDEO. I published a piece about combining improv and design called "Take it to the Next… Show more

I founded and led an improvisation group in Stockholm in the 1990's, and while I had taken many workshops, this 10-day workshop with Keith Johnstone was by far the most significant catalyst. Working with Keith solidified my intuitions about what makes improv great for both the player and audience. After this workshop, I decided to bring improvisation into my professional practice which then continued at IDEO. I published a piece about combining improv and design called "Take it to the Next Stage" based on applying Keith's work to design and innovation practice. I have stopped performing (for the moment), but bring much of this work forward in the classroom and with clients. Show less