Ready to meet some characters — specifically, some computer-activated coeds? Silicon-based seniors? Bionic beauties with a lot more retrievable memories about college than you have?

In this yearbook-inspired feature, we highlight 28 robots you might encounter in the labs, hallways or even outdoor spaces of the new USC School of Advanced Computing. As Maja Matarić, the Chan Soon-Shiong Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience and Pediatrics, notes: The school’s robots span a remarkably broad range of research.

So, acquaint yourself with them before they ditch class for some downtime at the Cyber Cafeteria.

 

Blossom

Most likely to: be your “zen” robot buddy (for only $250!)

Homeroom: Interaction Lab (Prof. Maja Matarić)

Note: Although you’re made of 3D printed parts, you have real heart. I love how you act as a study companion to college students with ADHD. You’re a real giver!

P.S. Love your knitted aesthetic!

 

LoCoBot

Quote: “You want me to go to the refrigerator and fetch the salmon? I’m on it!”

Homeroom: GLAMOR Lab (Prof. Jesse Thomason)

Note: Nothing but love and respect for a mobile robot like you who responds as well as you do to language commands about where to go next. Siri should only be so cooperative!

 

ADAMMS (Agile Dexterous Autonomous Mobile Manipulation System)

Dream Job: Working in a factory

Homeroom: USC Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) (Prof. S.K. Gupta)

Note: “Man, you really love those dull, repetitive tasks! I’ll let you know the next time I need to transport tools or tend to a 3D printer at 3 a.m.”

 

LayupWizard

The LeBron James of prepreg composite layups in manufacturing

Homeroom: USC Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) (Prof. S.K. Gupta)

Note: Sorry you didn’t make it to the NBA draft! But you’re a great worker with an uncanny attention to details!

 

LASER-D (Legged Agile Smart Efficient Robot for Disinfection)

“The robot dog that fights germs!”

Homeroom: Dynamic Robotics and Control Laboratory (CAM) (Prof. Quan Nguyen)

Note: Duuude! You were so clutch during the pandemic. I remember all the classrooms you disinfected during COVID. Is it true you can see how clean surfaces are better than a human?

 

HECTOR (Humanoid for Enhanced Control and Open-Source Research)

Most likely to: be a first responder in a disaster

Homeroom: Dynamic Robotics and Control Laboratory (CAM) (Prof. Quan Nguyen)

Note: Just like the mighty warrior of Troy, you’re tougher than you look! You can lift more than half your body weight. You’ve got a sick 16-inch vertical. And you’re the only robot I know who wears tennis shoes.

 

FALL-E

Most likely to: knock people off balance

Homeroom: HaRVI Lab (Prof. Heather Culbertson)

Note: Dear FALL-E, I know your job is to knock people off balance to see how they recover important info to train them to use a walker. But let’s be honest: You like your work a bit too much — BAD BOY

 

Traveler

Most likely to: act like a scientist (measuring loose soil and rocks) in deserts, mountains and forests

Homeroom: RoboLAND Lab (Prof. Feifei Qian)

Note: So cool they named you after the USC mascot. Can you carry me on your back during football games?

 

Spirit

Most likely to: walk on the moon or Mars

Homeroom: RoboLAND Lab (Prof. Feifei Qian)

Note: Hey, Spirit! What’s it like working for NASA? Heard you walked the Mount Hood glacier in Oregon, the White Sands desert in New Mexico. Even SoCal beaches. Send me a postcard!!

 

Unitree A1

Most likely to: carry heavy loads (even in treacherous and hazardous environments)

Homeroom: Dynamic Robotics and Control Laboratory (CAM) (Prof. Quan Nguyen)

Note: Remember that time it was SO hot outside, and you brought us all bottled waters? You carried 92% of your body weight on your back — never complained!

 

CARA

“Best friends with Rapunzel”

Homeroom: ICAROS Lab (Prof. Stefanos Nikolaidis)

Note: Dear CARA, I think it’s awesome that you help people with limited mobility, including stroke survivors, comb their hair. But what can you do for a bald bot like me?

 

WaveRider

Most likely to: use VR surf therapy to help people with chronic pain

Homeroom: HaRVI Lab (Prof. Heather Culbertson)

Note: I was a little skeptical when I tried you at first but I definitely had less pain!

Felt like I was really on a surfboard. The ocean, the island, the beach; it was all incredibly realistic.

 

Beobot the Third

Most likely to: map the world (in 3D)

Homeroom: USC iLab (Prof. Laurent Itti)

Note: You think you’re so great! If I had five cameras and Velodyne sensor on my head, maybe I could map the entire USC campus, too.

 

Flying Light Specks

Most likely: to create the “Star Trek” holodeck

Homeroom: FLS Lab (Prof. Shahram Ghandeharizadeh)

Note: So just wondering … can you use all your tiny drones to create a 3D bouquet of flowers that looks, feels and smells real? I kinda forgot my anniversary …

 

QTrobot

Most likely to: help kids with autism and cerebral palsy

Homeroom: USC Interaction Lab (Prof. Maja Matarić)

Note: You are the most EMPATHETIC robot I’ve ever met. Thanks for playing rehab games with me!

 

Quori

Voted: “Best dressed”

Homeroom: USC Interaction Lab (Prof. Maja Matarić)

Note: Hey Quori, you look good in whatever you wear! So cool that you were in a study that showed how different clothes can affect people’s expectations of a robot. Who cares if C-3PO is nude??

 

Baxter

Most likely to: make you breakfast or tie-dye your shirt

Homeroom: USC Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) (Prof. S.K. Gupta)

Note: For a big industrial robot, you’re surprisingly gentle! And that’s great, since you’re a collaborative robot, not an industrial one.

 

EcoMapper

Most likely to: be a marine biologist (or the next Magellan)

Homeroom: USC Robotic Embedded Systems Lab  (Prof. Gaurav Sukhatme)

Note: Heard you stay underwater up to 10 hours at a time! Thanks for protecting our oceans from crazy algae blooms!!

 

RESL Quadrotor

“A small bot with a big brain!”

Homeroom: USC Robotic Embedded Systems Lab  (Prof. Gaurav Sukhatme)

Note: RESL Quadrotor, my main man, it’s amazing that a bot as small as you can carry out such complicated and time-consuming computational and sensory tasks. You brainiac!

 

Husky

Quote: “Anyone feeling like off-roading this weekend?”

Homeroom: USC Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) (Prof. S.K. Gupta)

Note: Remember that time we got stuck in the mud? Nope, me neither, thanks to your powerful 4×4 zero-maintenance drivetrain!

 

WidowX

Most likely to: have 3D-printed, custom “gripper” hands

Homeroom: Learning and Interactive Robot Autonomy Lab (LiraLab, Prof. Erdem Biyik)

Note: Sure, you can put a square peg into a square hole. But can you make me breakfast?

 

Nao

Voted: “most expressive in class!”

Homeroom: USC Interaction Lab (Prof. Maja Matarić)

Note: When you’re only 26 inches tall, it helps to stand out! P.S. Can you teach me how to dance the Twist, Thriller and Whip/Nae Nae?

 

Kuri

Most likely to: “Explore the moon with you in mixed reality.”

Homeroom: USC Interaction Lab (Prof. Maja Matarić)

Note: It was so cool putting on a pair of glasses and seeing the same crazy augmented worlds together!

 

Sparky

Quote: “I stole Mickey’s gloves when I left Walt Disney Imagineering.”

Homeroom: USC Interaction Lab (Prof. Maja Matarić)

Note: You would be such a great tour guide for our lab! After that, maybe Jungle Cruise at Disneyland?

 

Maki

Superpower: Calming anxious kids right before a surgery or IV

Homeroom: USC Interaction Lab (Prof. Maja Matarić)

Note: You’re like a smaller version of Baymax from “Big Hero Six”! CHLA is lucky to have you!

 

Sci-Fi Bot

Most likely to: blend in with real fish (in the name of science)

Homeroom: USC Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) (Prof. S.K. Gupta)

Note: Dude … I just realized your name is short for Sarasa Comet Inspired Fish Robot.

 

Duplo

“When one robot arm just won’t do.”

Homeroom: USC Robotic Embedded Systems Lab (Prof. Gaurav Sukhatme) / SLURM Lab (Prof. Daniel Seita)

Note: Hey, Duplo, next time I need a jar opened or an item placed in a drawer, you’ve got the UR5 arms for the job!”

 

Panda

Most likely to: do laundry for you!

Homeroom: USC Robotic Embedded Systems Lab (Prof. Gaurav Sukhatme)

Note: You love folding and drying towels, and you’ve got cute panda colors — will you MARRY me?