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Nicholas Colonnese (Meta)

  • Stanford University Gates Computer Science, B03 353 Jane Stanford Way Stanford, CA, 94305 United States (map)

Dexterous Teleoperation: Challenges and Opportunities

Nicholas Colonnese

Research Science Director, Meta

Attendance Link: https://tinyurl.com/robosem-spr-2026


Abstract

Robotics is advancing rapidly, yet today's robots still struggle to match the dexterity of humans. A promising path toward autonomous dexterous robots is through learning-based methods trained on data collected via teleoperation, where a human operator controls a robot in real time to demonstrate complex tasks. In this talk, I will present the current state of dexterous teleoperation research and propose the field’s biggest challenges and opportunities.

Bio: I am a Research Science Director at Meta Reality Labs Research working on robotics. I lead a multidisciplinary teleoperation program supporting researchers in haptics, controls, and human-computer interaction. My mission is to enable robots to dexterously manipulate the environment using the sense of touch.

I am an active member of several academic communities including Haptics Symposium, CHI, IROS, and others.

I hold a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

Please visit https://stanfordasl.github.io/robotics_seminar/for this quarter’s lineup of speakers. Although we encourage live in-person attendance, recordings of talks will be posted also.

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May 22

Prof. Rob Platt (Northeastern University)