Duffield Hall at sunset.
Two students walking on Engineering Quad towards Duffield
Two students working on a autonomous plane
Woman taking a photo of a mumified bird
Students walking along Ho Plaza

Guy Hoffman

Associate Professor
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Biography

Guy Hoffman joined the faculty of the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University in January 2016. Prior to that he was Assistant Professor at IDC Herzliya and co-director of the IDC Media Innovation Lab. Hoffman was a research fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Hoffman holds a Ph.D from MIT in the field of human-robot interaction (HRI), and a M.Sc. in Computer Science from Tel Aviv University. He also studied animation at Parsons School of Design in NYC.

Research Interests

Hoffman studies computational, design, and social aspects of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), focusing on human-robot collaboration and companionship. His research interests include embodied cognition for social robots, anticipation and timing in HRI and multi-agent MDPs, nonverbal behavior in HRI, robotics for the performing arts, and non-anthropomorphic robot design.

Teaching Interests

Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Designing Interactive Systems, Prototyping & Innovation Processes.

Selected Publications

  • Birnbaum, G E., M. Mizrahi, G. Hoffman, H T. Reis, E J. Finkel, O Sass. 2016.“What robots can teach us about intimacy: The reassuring effects of robot responsiveness to human disclosure.”Computers in Human Behavior63: 416-423.
  • Hoffman, G., S. Bauman, K Vanunu. 2016.“Robotic experience companionship in music listening and video watching.”Personal and Ubiquitous Computing20(1): 51-63.
  • Thomaz, A., G. Hoffman, M Cakmak. 2016.“Computational Human-Robot Interaction.”Foundations and Trends in Robotics4(2-3): 104-223.
  • Forlizzi, J., T. Saensuksopa, N. Salaets, M. Shomin, T. Mericli, G. Hoffman. 2016.“Let’s be honest: A controlled field study of ethical behavior in the presence of a robot.”Paper presented at 25th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) NYC, NY
  • Luria, M., G. Hoffman, B. Megidish, O. Zuckerman, S. Park. 2016.“Designing Vyo, a robotic Smart Home assistant: Bridging the gap between device and social agent.”Paper presented at 25th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) NYC, NY

Selected Awards and Honors

  • Andrew P. Sage Best Transactions Paper Award (IEEE) 2020
  • Dennis G. Shepherd Teaching Award (College of Engineering, Cornell University) 2019
  • Best Paper Award (Design) (IEEE/ACM International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)) 2015
  • Best Workshop Paper (Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS) Workshop on Human Robot Collaboration) 2013
  • Best Paper Award (Cognitive Robotics) (IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)) 2010
  • Best Paper Finalist (IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN)) 2012
  • Best Paper (Cognitive Robotics) (IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN)) 2008

Education

  • M.Sc. Tel Aviv University, 2000
  • Ph.D. (Human-Robot Interaction), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007