By Amanda Hacio
Professor Tim Barfoot (UTIAS) has been named the Director of the University of Toronto Robotics Institute, a University of Toronto Strategic Initiative (ISI) since 2021 and founding member of the Canadian Robotics Council.
Barfoot, a co-founder of the Robotics Institute and global expert in autonomous systems, field robotics and robot state estimation, will serve a five-year term effective July 1, 2025. Barfoot succeeds Professor Yu Sun (MIE), who served as the institute’s inaugural director since 2019.
“Robotics as a field has never been more exciting,” said Barfoot. “Canada is uniquely positioned to harness recent advances in AI while building on decades of robotics research to transform key industries, from transportation and logistics to healthcare, resource extraction, and manufacturing.
“At U of T, our strength lies in the diversity of our research. We have experts driving breakthroughs that are shaping the future of these sectors and more.”
Barfoot is a two-time grad of the University of Toronto, and has a 30-year history working in robotics. He first got his start as an Engineering Science student, then as a PhD student at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS).
After completing his PhD, he joined the technical team at MDA Robotics (now MDA Space), where he developed foundational autonomous vehicle navigation technologies for planetary rovers and ground applications, such as underground mining.
Today, Barfoot is widely recognized as a global authority in robot navigation and state estimation as a professor at UTIAS. He held the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Autonomous Space Robotics for a 10-year term, authored a leading textbook on robot state estimation, and currently serves as editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transactions on Field Robotics (T-FR), the leading journal in the field.
Barfoot has also played a leading role in establishing the university’s core undergraduate and graduate robotics programs over the last 15 years. This includes the Engineering Science Robotics Major and the Collaborative Specialization in Robotics – the only program of its kind in Canada to offer graduate students a robotics designation on their degree.
As he takes on this new position, Barfoot looks forward to continuing to grow the university’s robotics network.
“Above all, I think the institute’s most important role is to serve as a community hub,” said Barfoot. “Robotics is the type of field where critical mass matters and more progress is made through collaboration than isolation.”
“I encourage faculty across the university who have robotics as part of their research program, or are planning to incorporate robotics, to reach out, join the institute and tap into our network of collaborators.”
The University of Toronto has a longstanding history of robotics breakthroughs, dating back to the 1970s when university researchers developed critical technology for Canadarm.
Barfoot believes the Robotics Institute has an important role to play in continuing this legacy of robotics research excellence and positioning the university, and Canada, at the forefront of innovation.
“By bringing together the university’s robotics experts, the institute will continue to help shape a new generation of leaders, including engineers, computer scientists, doctors, economists, policymakers, and even artists, who are ready to push the boundaries of robotics for the betterment of Canadians.”