Seth J. Teller Explained

Birth Date:28 May 1964
Fields:Computer science
Workplaces:MIT
Alma Mater:Wesleyan University (BA)
University of California, Berkeley (MA, PhD)
Thesis Title:Visibility Computations in Densely Occluded Polyhedral Environments
Thesis Url:https://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/1992/6250.html
Thesis Year:1992
Doctoral Advisor:Carlo H. Séquin

Seth Jared Teller (May 28, 1964 – July 1, 2014) was an American computer scientist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose research interests included computer vision, sensor networks, and robotics.[1] In his Argus and Rover projects of the late 1990s, Teller was an early pioneer in the use of mobile cameras and geolocation to build three-dimensional models of cities.[2] [3]

Early life

Teller's parents were Joan Teller and Samuel H. Teller of Bolton, Connecticut; Samuel Teller was a senior judge in the Connecticut Superior Court in Rockville.[4]

Teller received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992. His dissertation, "Visibility Computations in Densely Occluded Polyhedral Environments," was supervised by Carlo H. Séquin.

Academic career

He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Computer Science Institute of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Princeton University's Computer Science Department.

Teller was awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 1997.[5]

Teller was heading the Robotics, Vision, and Sensor Networks group at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, conducting robotics and artificial intelligence research on developing robots with situational awareness.[6] His work involved, in particular, creating various assistive technology robots and devices for people with disabilities.[7] [8] [9] Teller's robotics projects included "a robotic, voice-controlled wheelchair, a wearable device for visually-impaired people that provides them with information about their surroundings, a self-driving car and an unmanned forklift".[10] He also worked on developing technology for reducing the danger of first responders being hit by the passing vehicles while stopped to deal with highway accidents.[11]

Teller was part of the MIT group developing software for a DoD robot, "Atlas", in the DARPA Robotics Challenge competition.[12] [13] Earlier, Teller's robotic car competed in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge competition.[14]

In 2015, the Robotics Science and Systems Foundation established a Best Systems Paper Award in honor of Teller.[15] [16]

Personal life and death

Seth Teller married Rachel Zimmerman, a journalist from New York, in September 2002.[4] They had two daughters.[17]

Teller was involved in neighborhood activism in Cambridge, Massachusetts and helped create the Neighborhood Association of East Cambridge.[18] [19]

Seth Teller died by suicide on July 1, 2014, at the age of 50, jumping off the Tobin Bridge.[20] [21] In 2024, Zimmerman published a book about the impact of her husband's death titled Us, After: A Memoir of Love and Suicide.[22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Teller, S.J. . Séquin, C.H.. 1991. Visibility preprocessing for interactive walkthroughs. Proceedings of the 18th annual conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques. 61–70. ACM Press New York, NY, USA.
  2. Scanning project puts three-dimensional city models on the map. Robert J.. Sales. MIT News. February 24, 1999.
  3. Book: GeoSensor Networks. Anthony. Stefanidis. Silvia. Nittel. CRC Press. 2004. 9780203356869. 5.
  4. News: New York Times. WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Rachel Zimmerman, Seth Teller. September 8, 2002. September 29, 2019.
  5. News: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Chronicle of Higher Education. 1997-07-18. 2019-09-24.
  6. News: Robot wheelchair finds its own way. MIT News. September 19, 2008. September 24, 2019.
  7. News: 50 key MIT-related innovations. Beta Boston. May 19, 2014. September 24, 2019.
  8. News: Andrea Bocelli: Every day they told me 'this is too dangerous'. But I don't care. The Independent. February 17, 2013. September 24, 2019.
  9. News: Un navigatore per non vedenti Bocelli mette al lavoro il Mit. La Repubblica. January 14, 2014. September 24, 2019.
  10. News: Tech luminaries we lost in 2014. Computerworld. Ken Gagne . Rebecca Linke . December 30, 2014. September 25, 2019.
  11. News: Boston Globe. MIT engineers help fight roadside perils. April 2, 2012. Hiawatha Bray. September 29, 2019.
  12. News: Fox News. Robot rescue: First-responders of the future. June 10, 2014. September 24, 2019.
  13. News: For Autonomous Robots, The School of Hard Knocks Is In Session. Popular Science. Erik Sofge. June 6, 2015. September 25, 2019.
  14. News: Robotic Cars Hit the Road in 2 States. Fox Business. Jay MacDonald. September 27, 2012. September 29, 2019.
  15. Web site: Robotics Science and Systems Foundation. 2020-03-14.
  16. Web site: Best Systems Paper Award. Robotics Science and Systems Foundation. 2019-09-24.
  17. News: Death notices: Seth J. Teller. Boston Globe. July 26, 2014. Legacy.com. September 29, 2019.
  18. News: Wicked Local Cambridge. Community remembers Cambridge activist, MIT professor Seth Teller. Sara Feijo. July 9, 2014. September 29, 2019.
  19. News: Boston Herald. Let HYM do it, cries E. Cambridge group. Greg Turner. January 11, 2013. September 29, 2019.
  20. News: Professor Seth Teller dies at age 50. en-US. live. MIT News. July 2, 2014. March 16, 2023. February 3, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230203034005/https://news.mit.edu/2014/professor-seth-teller-dies.
  21. News: Xu, Kath. Cause of death of Professor Seth Teller is released. en-US. live. The Tech. August 5, 2014. March 16, 2023. March 15, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230315132939/https://thetech.com/2014/08/05/suicide-v134-n29.
  22. News: Zimmerman . Rachel . My husband died by suicide. How would I tell our young children? . 4 July 2024 . The Washington Post . 27 June 2024.