Leila Takayama: Robotics Toward a More Human-Centered Future

Founder and Researcher, Hoku Labs Dr. Leila Takayama is a cognitive and social scientist who studies human-robot interaction. Her research interests include understanding how people interact with new technologies and how their experiences with those technologies influence the wyas that they experience the world. As founder of Hoku Labs, she conducts human-robto interaction research consulting for product teams. She is also an acting associate professor of psychology at University of California, Santa Cruz, and previously worked as senior user experience researcher at GoogleX and as research scientists for human-robt interaction at Willow Garage. Takayama received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and cognitive science from University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in communication from Stanford University. She has been recognized with an early-career award from the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, named one of MIT Technology Review’s top 35 innovators under 35, and listed as one of the most creative people in business in Fast Company.