Community & Network
Peer connections, events, and forums
- Robotics professionals & researchers
- Policy leaders across US, Japan, and Europe
- Members-only events and forums
Institute for Humane Robotics
Defining how robots coexist with humans.
Designing social boundaries, evaluation frameworks, and cross-cultural guidance for embodied AI entering homes, healthcare, education, and public life.
Join researchers, designers, and policymakers shaping the future of human-robot coexistence.
We provide intelligence, community, and design guidance for teams building robots that live with people.
Membership
Community, research, and advisory access — together.
An even mix of the three modes of access, for teams shaping human–robot interaction.
Research Access
Reports, framework updates, and insights
- Ongoing research reports
- Framework updates as they ship
- Early access to publications and briefings
Advisory Support
Consulting hours and design reviews
- Office hours with the Institute team
- HRI, standards, and enterprise expertise
- Japan market strategy access
Intelligence Service · The Japan–US Corridor
A bridge between the two cultures most ready to live with robots.
Japan
Eight to ten years ahead
Japan has spent decades quietly normalizing robots in homes, hospitals, and elder care — the world's most generous laboratory for what humane robotics actually feels like over time.
- Long-term coexistence
- Care robotics
- Robot-Friendly Society
United States
The frontier of embodied AI
The U.S. is where the next decade of household robotics will be built and shipped. Founders, labs, and regulators are converging on questions they've never had to answer together before.
- Embodied AI
- Founders & VC
- Emerging policy
Through the Japan–US Corridor we translate what each side already knows into something both sides can use — actionable intelligence on Japan's robotics ecosystem for companies, investors, and researchers who can't afford to wait.
What We Do
IHR operates at the intersection of science, design, and governance — building the infrastructure that makes human-robot coexistence safe, intentional, and lasting.
Our work focuses on:
- Industry — Advisory and evaluation services for robotics companies entering domestic, healthcare, and public-facing markets. We help teams build robots people can actually live with.
- Research — Original and collaborative studies on psychosocial safety, relational trust, and cross-cultural human-robot interaction. Home to our IEEE P7027 standards work.
- Education — Curriculum, workshops, and institutional programming that build literacy around embodied AI — for engineers, designers, policymakers, and the public.
- Policy — Governance frameworks, regulatory alignment, and standards advocacy at the national and international level. We shape the rules before they're written without us.
- Media — Content, storytelling, and public engagement that makes the science accessible and the stakes legible — because this conversation belongs to everyone.
This is not speculative ethics.
It is infrastructure for systems being built right now.
Who This Is For
This work is intended for:
Robotics founders, CTOs, and technical leadership
Embodied AI and autonomy teams
Product and interaction designers working on social robots
Responsible AI, safety, and policy leads
Research labs working on human–robot interaction
Standards bodies and policy organizations shaping emerging frameworks
If your system will live with people, this work is relevant.
The Institute
The Institute for Humane Robotics is an independent research and design institute focused on long-term human–robot interaction in domestic, caregiving, and child-facing contexts.
Our work bridges research, industry, and policy.
Core Team
Sara Filipčić
Founder & Executive Director
Entrepreneur with 8+ years building and advising startups across the US, Europe, and Australia. Expert on the impact of technology on child development and long-term human–machine interaction. Bridges research, industry, and policy to define responsible deployment strategies for embodied AI systems.
Roshni Lulla, PhD
Co-Founder & Head of Research
Dr. Roshni Lulla completed her PhD in Brain & Cognitive Sciences under Antonio Damasio and Jonas Kaplan at USC. Her research decodes the neural basis of empathy using neuroimaging, and her recent work demonstrates how frontier AI models adopt stable antisocial personas - bridging affective neuroscience and AI alignment to inform how machines should relate to humans.
Philip Cherner
Co-Founder & Technical Lead
MIT Media Lab engineer specializing in embodied AI, robotics, and human-centered autonomy. Brings deep expertise in AI systems design, safety architecture, and real-world deployment of autonomous systems
Strategic Engagement
We work across the ecosystem shaping how embodied AI systems are developed, deployed, and governed.
Robotics companies and research labs
Standards and policy bodies
Academic and public-interest institutions
Engagements are selective and purpose-driven.
Institute Membership
Join the Institute.
For teams, researchers, and institutions at the frontier of human-robot interaction. Membership opens access to community, research, and advisory support.
- Community & network across US, Japan, and Europe
- Research access — framework, reports, and early briefings
- Advisory support — design reviews and office hours
Membership launching soon — sign up to be notified.