Research Topics

At the core of our interdisciplinary research are social robots and the desire to gain a deeper understanding of how humans respond to embodied technologies. This includes exploring the underlying mechanisms and processes (such as social perception) that are deterministic in the interaction with such technologies. Of particular interest to us is the question of whether and how the unique combination of physical embodiment and the ability for multimodal (verbal and nonverbal) communication makes the interaction with social robots special for humans. To address this question, we integrate communication- and media-psychological theories with psychological research methods and engineering challenges related to the direct interaction between humans and robots. Furthermore, the aim of our research is to contribute to the human-centered design of technology.