Congressional Staff Visit Stony Brook Robotics Labs to Experience Research in Action
During a two-day campus visit to Stony Brook University, organized by Stony Brook’s Office for Research and Innovation and the Office of Federal Relations, congressional staff from the offices of Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representative Nick LaLota, Representative Andrew Garbarino, Representative Laura Gillen, and Representative Joseph Morelle met with university leaders, researchers, and clinicians and visited facilities across campus to learn more about Stony Brook’s research, innovation, and clinical programs.
As part of the visit, the delegation met with two Mechanical Engineering robotics researchers to learn about research spanning from task learning for embodied AI to crab-inspired robot designed to travel from the air to the ocean floor.
Teaching Robots Through Demonstration
At the Interacting Robotic Systems Laboratory, Professor Nilanjan Chakraborty gave visitors a firsthand look at how robots can learn physical tasks directly from
people. The demonstration focused on embodied AI, with visitors physically guiding
a robotic arm to show how a robot can learn a task through demonstration rather than
relying on every movement being programmed by a robotics expert.
Chakraborty’s research focuses on caregiver-guided assistive robotics, in which robots learn everyday tasks such as retrieving an object, getting water or medication, or accessing a cabinet. The goal is to make robots that ordinary people can teach without specialized programming knowledge and that can adapt to individual users and environments.
The hands-on demonstration offered the delegation a direct way to experience the potential of embodied AI. As Chakraborty explained,
“There is a big difference between describing embodied AI and letting someone physically guide a robot and see how it learns. Our goal is to develop robots that ordinary people can teach through demonstration, so that the robot can adapt to the tasks and environments that matter to them. The congressional visit was a wonderful opportunity to make both the possibilities and the challenges of this technology tangible.”
Advancing Marine Robotics
The delegation also visited the Discovery Boathouse at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) to meet with Assistant Professor William Stewart and tour the future home of the Sea State Simulator. The simulator will recreate conditions such as gusting wind and waves, providing a controlled environment for testing and refining robotic systems designed for challenging aquatic environments. Stewart gave visitors an overview of the facility and demonstrated a prototype robotic crab developed as part of a $2.4 million project funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. Led by Stewart, with Chakraborty as co-PI, the Stony Brook team is collaborating with Case Western Reserve University to develop small-scale, crab-inspired robots capable of rapid deployment across air, water, and deep-sea environments. The delegation discussed the affordability of the robots and potential applications, including search and rescue and in renewable energy.
Reflecting on the importance of connecting this research with public policy and its potential impact on communities, Stewart said:
“This visit was a great opportunity to have a discussion with policy makers about how the research being done at Stony Brook affects the lives of everyday New Yorkers. ”
The visit offered congressional staff a firsthand look at the breadth of robotics research underway in Stony Brook’s Mechanical Engineering department—from developing robots that learn directly from people to designing systems capable of navigating the transition from air to the ocean floor. The demonstrations highlighted both the practical potential of these technologies and the research challenges that must be addressed as robotics moves into increasingly complex environments.
For more information:
- Congressional Staff Get an Inside Look at Stony Brook’s Research, Innovation and Patient Care, (SBU News)