MOME Robotics studio / Reflective Robotics | International Guest Lecturer at MOME Robotics Studio: Human–Robot Interaction Intensive with David Yann Robert (Boston Dynamics)
An intensive studio-based Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) course led by David Yann Robert (Boston Dynamics), exploring embodied design, robot behavior, interaction concepts, and lightweight prototyping.
Human–Robot Interaction, HRI course, David Yann Robert, embodied interaction design, robotics design course, human-centered robotics, embodied AI, Boston Dynamics design, MIT Media Lab HRI, robot behavior design, studio-based robotics course, interaction design robotics, experimental robotics education
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Renata Dezso 05 February 2026 Education/MOME Students/MOME_Workshop/NEWS 0

International Guest Lecturer at MOME Robotics Studio:

Human–Robot Interaction Intensive with David Yann Robert (Boston Dynamics)

Next week, we’re very happy to welcome David Yann Robert to MOME Robotics Studio for an intensive week focused on Human–Robot Interaction.

David is currently Director of Human–Robot Interaction Design at Boston Dynamics, and his path into robotics is anything but linear. He comes from animation, performance, sound, and artistic research, later moving into Human–Robot Interaction through the MIT Media Lab. This layered background strongly shapes how he thinks about robots — not just as machines, but as embodied agents that communicate through movement, timing, character, and presence.

During the week, David will work closely with students from the Interaction Design MA (English) and related programs in a studio-based format. Rather than focusing on complex robotics engineering, the course explores how interaction concepts emerge, how assumptions are tested, and how meaning, trust, and expectations are shaped through embodied interaction. A demo robot platform (Reachy Mini – early edition) will be present, but the emphasis is on thinking through making, lightweight prototyping, and bodily experience.

For us at MOME Robotics Studio, this week is part of a longer trajectory: building an international network where design, robotics, research, and artistic practice genuinely meet. Bringing someone like David into the studio is not about showcasing prestige, but about opening up ways of thinking that rarely fit into a single discipline or curriculum.

The course runs Monday–Friday, 9:00–17:00, and is coordinated by Renáta Dezső in collaboration with Fogarasi Tamás, Head of the Interaction Design MA. It’s an intense week, but also a rare opportunity for students to work directly with perspectives shaped by both experimental research and real-world robotic systems.

We’re very much looking forward to the conversations, experiments, and questions that will come out of this week.

David will also bring a Reachy Mini robot (early edition), which we’ll use throughout the week as a demo and experimentation platform,  a concrete way to think through interaction, movement, and embodied behavior together.

Course Details

Human–Robot Interactions (HRI) – Intensive Studio Course
Dates: February 9–13, 2026
Language: English
Format: Intensive, studio-based workshop

This one-week intensive course is offered within the Interaction Design MA (English) program collaborating with MOME Robotics Studio and is open to students from interaction design, media design, object/product design, and related fields.

Course Focus

The course explores Human–Robot Interaction as an embodied design practice, with emphasis on:

  • interaction concepts and software agents
  • movement, form, and behavioral meaning
  • trust, readability, and expectation-setting in HRI
  • lightweight prototyping and bodily experimentation
  • reflection on design decisions and assumptions

While a demo robot platform (Reachy Mini – early edition) is available, the primary focus is on conceptual development, embodied thinking, and iterative design, rather than advanced robotics engineering.

Course Lead

David Yann Robert
Director of Human–Robot Interaction Design, Boston Dynamics

David Yann Robert is a leading figure in Human–Robot Interaction, working at the intersection of robotics, embodied AI, animation, design research, and performance. His background spans early computer-animated feature films, procedural animation systems, HRI research at the MIT Media Lab, and the design of real-world robotic products and interaction frameworks at Boston Dynamics.

Additional Lecturers

  • Renáta Dezső – Interaction design researcher and course coordinator
  • Fogarasi Tamás – Head of Interaction Design MA, co-organizer

The course is developed and hosted in close collaboration with the Interaction Design MA program, connecting research-driven design education with contemporary industrial and artistic HRI practice.