Matt Webster
Papers
15
Total Citations
278
H-Index
8
About
Matt Webster is a prominent researcher specializing in formal verification, autonomous robotics, and the safety and trustworthiness of AI-driven systems. His work addresses one of the most pressing challenges in modern robotics: ensuring that autonomous systems operating alongside humans are provably safe and reliable. Webster's early contributions, including his 2014 and 2015 studies on formal verification of the Care-O-bot personal robotic assistant, established foundational methodologies for applying model-checking techniques to high-level robotic planners — work that has collectively garnered over 100 citations. His research extends across diverse high-stakes domains, from healthcare companions to nuclear inspection and deep space exploration, as evidenced by his widely cited 2021 overviews of verification and validation challenges for inspection robots and space autonomous systems. Webster has also advanced human-robot interaction through innovative work on explainability, notably his "Why Did You Do That?" Button paper, which addresses how robots can communicate their decision-making to end users. Through tools like CRutoN and collaborations spanning industrial and space applications, his contributions have meaningfully shaped how the robotics community approaches certification, safety assurance, and the responsible deployment of autonomous systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2An Overview of Verification and Validation Challenges for Inspection Robots60 citations · 2021
- 3Formal Verification of an Autonomous Personal Robotic Assistant31 citations · 2014
- 4
- 5A Review of Verification and Validation for Space Autonomous Systems24 citations · 2021
- 6
- 7CRutoN: Automatic Verification of a Robotic Assistant’s Behaviours10 citations · 2017
- 8Certification of Safe and Trusted Robotic Inspection of Assets9 citations · 2018
- 9Can you trust your robotic assistant7 citations · 2013
- 10