Brooke Stephenson

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Brooke Stephenson is a leading voice in the study of human-robot interaction (HRI), with a particular focus on the nuanced breakdowns that occur during real-time communication. Her work bridges robotics, conversation analysis, and cognitive science to understand why and how interactions fail, and how to repair them. In her highly cited 2024 paper, "Unraveling the thread: understanding and addressing sequential failures in human-robot interaction," Stephenson draws on established frameworks from conversation analysis to reveal how participants orient to conversational norms and expectations of relevance—even when interacting with machines. This work has already garnered 4 citations in its first year, signaling its rapid impact on the field. By diagnosing the "sequential failures" that disrupt dialogue, Stephenson offers both a theoretical foundation and practical strategies for designing more resilient, socially aware robots. Her research is essential reading for anyone interested in making robots not just functional, but genuinely communicative partners.