Eli Lilly, Purdue will share field knowledge on human-robot interaction at RoboBusiness
Human-robot interaction is one of the most important tools remaining in industrial automation for ensuring greater safety, but most HRI research occurs on university campuses producing data that rarely survives contact with a live manufacturing plant.
Conducting studies within a functioning manufacturing site is logistically difficult enough that most academia-industry partnerships never progress beyond the first meeting.
At RoboBusiness 2026, Faraz Yousuf, senior robotics applications engineer at Eli Lilly, and Dr. Anastasia Kouvaras Ostrowski, assistant professor at Purdue University, will discuss “Human-Robot Interaction: Bridging Academia and Industry.”
RoboBusiness will be held on October 20 and 21 in Santa Clara, California. Yousuf and Ostrowski’s talk will take place at 11:45 a.m. PT on the first day of the show.
The two will share what they have learned by performing HRI field studies with manufacturing and warehouse operators on live automated guided vehicles (AGVs). They will also explain some of the early findings on the perception of robots in manufacturing plants and the playbook created to make the partnership repeatable.
Meet the human-robot interaction experts
Faraz Yousuf is a senior robotics applications engineer at Eli Lilly. There, he works at the intersection of human-robot interaction, robot safety, inspection robotics, and systems integration in pharmaceutical manufacturing environments.
He has experience in designing, implementing, integrating and supporting ASRS, AGV, AMR and inspection quads in different types of process areas. He also contributes to the ANSI R15.08 Part 3, ISO 25785-1, and TR R15.108 safety standards committees that focus on the safety of dynamically stable robots.
Dr. Anastasia Kouvaras Ostrowski is an assistant professor in the School of Applied and Creative Computing with a courtesy appointment in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. His work supports design and implementation processes in human-computer and human-robot interaction.
Ostrowski specializes in co-design and participatory design approaches, particularly in the design and implementation of robots and artificial intelligence in industrial, manufacturing and domestic contexts. It also focuses on designing policies related to new technologies in these ecosystems.
Previously, Ostrowski was a postdoctoral researcher in the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) department of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and in the Personal Robots Group of the MIT Media Lab. Anastasia received her Ph.D. in media arts and sciences from MIT, focused on equitable technology design, and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan, focusing on engineering design processes and idea generation.
Register now for RoboBusiness
RoboBusiness 2026 is the leading event for commercial robotics developers. Attendees will be able to get the latest insights from robotics and AI experts on cutting-edge research; industry trends; and innovative applications in industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, logistics and more.
The show also offers a number of networking opportunities to give attendees the chance to connect with other industry experts.
Purchase your full conference pass and get full access to all keynotes, technical sessions, networking receptions and special events. Discounts are also available for the academic world, associations and corporate groups. Please send events via email[at]arrowfly.com for more details on our discount programs.
For information on sponsorships and exhibition opportunities, download the prospectus. Questions regarding sponsorship opportunities should be directed to Colleen Sepich at csepich[AT]www.arrowfly.com.
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