Trustworthy, Intelligent, and Explainable Robotics (TIER) Lab

At the Trustworthy, Intelligent, and Explainable Robotics (TIER) Lab, our mission is to develop robots for social good. We aim to design and develop robotic systems that not only intelligent and robust but also trustworthy, transparent, ethical, and inclusive.

Our research is at the intersection of artificial intelligence, human-robot interaction, machine learning, robotics, cognitive science, and ethics. The TIER lab was founded in September 2023 at Hunter College, CUNY.

Research Areas

  • Human-Robot Interaction (HRI): Designing robots that can navigate crowded human environments, communicate decisions, and build trust with users.
  • Explainable AI & Robotics: Developing systems that can provide clear, natural language explanations for their actions, fostering user understanding and accountability.
  • Cognitive Models & Decision-Making: Drawing inspiration from human cognition to design adaptive robot navigation and planning systems.
  • Multi-Objective & Multi-Agent Planning: Using voting-based algorithms from social choice theory to enable fair, efficient group decision-making in robot teams.
  • Ethics, Diversity & Inclusion in AI: Investigating how AI and robotics impact marginalized communities and creating participatory, justice-oriented design methods.
  • Queer-Inclusive Robotics: Exploring how robotic companions and systems can better serve LGBTQ+ communities.

Our current projects span social robot navigation, multi-robot coordination, foundation models for robotics, bias detection in large language model-powered robots, trust in robotics, and queer-inclusive design.

Team

I am proud to mentor a diverse and interdisciplinary group of student researchers across the CUNY system and beyond. Our students bring expertise from computer science, sociology, cognitive science, and design, working collaboratively on projects that advance responsible and inclusive robotics.

Raj Korpan, Director

Graduate Student Researchers

  • Daniel Weiner – Ph.D. in Computer Science, The Graduate Center, CUNY
  • Luke Nicholls – Ph.D. in Basic and Applied Social Psychology, The Graduate Center, CUNY
  • Nneka Hyman – M.S. in Applied Digital Sociology, Hunter College, CUNY
  • Jackie Yee – M.S. in Data Science, School of Professional Studies, CUNY

Undergraduate Student Researchers

Hunter College (CUNY)

  • Khadeja Ahmar
  • Eric Guan
  • Kelly Lin
  • Sofia Rodriguez
  • Jason Shan
  • Daniel Tiourine
  • Jack Jewell
  • Jasmine Khan
  • Keys Rigual
  • Raitah Jinnat
  • Daniel Merino

Non-Hunter

  • Alexandria Rohn – Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies, CUNY
  • Daniel Foulen – Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies, CUNY
  • Kaz Nam – Rice University

Past Student Researchers

Hunter College (CUNY)

  • Georgina Woo
  • Isaac Waters
  • Anthony Pinales
  • Tamanna Chowdhury
  • Muhammed Cheema
  • Jessie Lin
  • Leah Kelley
  • Daniel Kaijzer
  • Sreejita Roy
  • Fariha Ahmed
  • Rodney Daniel
  • Saim Imran
  • Bryant Zheng
  • Sami Chen
  • Anthony Pinales
  • Kevin Zhang
  • Taizhen Cheung

Non-Hunter

  • Eric Stiefel – Baruch College, CUNY
  • Eliza Verghese – M.S. Thesis, Iona University
  • Melville Lipton – Honors Thesis Proposal, Iona University
  • Sergey Karpov – Honors Thesis, Iona University
  • Brandon Gianni – Honors Thesis, Iona University