Matt Krugman, left, lead engineer at Acroname Easier Robotics of Boulder, Colo., shows Idaho State University graduate student Karthikeyan Duraisamy the operation of "Garcia," a research robot, at the downtown Marriott Hotel in Salt Lake City. Researchers from around the world gathered at the hotel for the inaugural Human-Robot Interaction conference. They're discussing robot topics from hands-free vacuums to mini-vehicles.