Prof. Zackory Erickson is an Assistant Professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and directs the Robotic Caregiving and Human Interaction (RCHI) Lab. His research develops manipulation, tactile sensing, and physical human-robot interaction methods that allow robots to safely and effectively assist people — particularly in caregiving, in-home, and healthcare settings.
His group integrates large-scale simulation, learning, and real-world robot deployment, with a focus on dexterous manipulation of cloth and deformable objects, whole-arm contact, and assistive tasks such as dressing, bathing, and feeding. He has open-sourced widely used simulation frameworks for assistive robotics and physical human-robot interaction.
Prof. Erickson received his Ph.D. in Robotics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His work has been recognized with best paper nominations at top robotics venues and supported by NSF, the Toyota Research Institute, Sony AI, and other funders. His research has been featured by IEEE Spectrum, WIRED, and the BBC.
