“Robo Reflections” is a space where Faculty, Postdocs, and PhD students in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) at the University of Michigan share reflections about the field. We draw upon state-of-the-art as well as foundational work in HRI to engage engage in research critiques that potentiate transformations in HRI. Our reflections cover the multiple areas of HRI, including algorithmic, systems, design, studies, and theories. Our sources include the conferences of HRI, RSS, ICRA, IROS, CoRL, DIS, TEI, CHI, as well as related Journals.
Format
We follow a reflection & critique style, led by one presenter each week. Participants are expected to volunteer to facilitate reflections by signing up in this document (please request access if needed). The lead presenter will introduce the research piece and guide the reflections with prepared questions. The other participants are not expected to have read the paper before coming, but they can do so if they wish. We strive to create a space for a daring and respectful critique environment, where everyone’s opinion is valued.
How Dare You, iCub? Robots Face Harsher Judgments Than Humans in Social Exclusion (Under Review)
Francesca Cocchella, Sara Mongile, Giulia Pusceddu, Linda Lastrico, Giulia Belgiovine, Ana Tanevska, Luca Andrighetto, Francesco Rea, Alessandra Sciutti
Under Review - please do not share
Rebranding Sex Robots: Realbotix’s Corporate Metamorphosis
Annette M. Masterson and Lionel Peter Robert
RO-MAN '25: Proceedings of the 34th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication.
Virtually the Same or Realistically Different?: A Meta-analysis of Real vs. 'Not So Real' Robots
Connor Esterwood, Ruijia (Hannah) Guan, Xin Ye, and Lionel Robert Jr.
HRI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. pp. 559 - 568.
Assistant Professor of Robotics University of Michigan
Long-Jing Hsu
Postdoctoral Researcher in Robotics University of Michigan
Annette Masterson
Research Fellow in Robotics and Information University of Michigan
Supporting Faculty
Chris Mavrogiannis
Assistant Professor of Robotics University of Michigan
Lionel Robert
Full Professor of Robotics and Information University of Michigan
Leia Stirling
Full Professor of Robotics and Industrial and Operational Engineering University of Michigan
Contact
If you work in HRI and are interested in joining Robo Reflections, or for any other inquiries, please contact:
Long-Jing Hsu, hsulon@iu.edu
Annette Masterson, ammaster@umich.edu