Yi Fang with the Computer Science and Engineering Department has received a $50,000 award from DOCOMO Innovations, Inc.
This project proposes that advances in AI are enabling a new generation of physical Al systems across domains such as healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and services, where their decisions directly impact operations, safety, and customer experience. This project develops a Responsible Physical AI framework that integrates robotics and Al with principles of safety, transparency, and human-centered design, with a focus on deployable solutions such as risk-aware decision-making under real-world uncertainty, explainable and collaborative human-robot interaction, and practical approaches to monitoring, evaluation, and governance. Through prototyping and real-world validation, the project aims to advance trustworthy robotic systems while establishing practical guidelines for deploying physical AI that is not only intelligent but also safe, interpretable, and aligned with human values.