Geethika Hemkumar
Papers
1
Total Citations
15
H-Index
1
About
Geethika Hemkumar is a rising scholar in human-robot interaction (HRI), whose work centers on understanding how people perceive and respond to autonomous robots in public spaces. Her most cited paper, “What’s That Robot Doing Here?” (2023, 15 citations), investigates the dynamics of incidental encounters with autonomous quadruped robots—a critical yet underexplored area as service robots become more common. In this study, Hemkumar examined how visual cues of human control, such as a leash, shape public perceptions of robot presence and behavior. Her findings offer actionable insights for designing robots that integrate smoothly into everyday environments, addressing trust, safety, and social acceptance. By focusing on unscripted, real-world interactions rather than controlled lab experiments, Hemkumar’s work bridges a gap between technical robotics and social science. Her research has implications for robot deployment in settings like malls, campuses, and hospitals, where robots must navigate complex human spaces. As a researcher at the forefront of studying spontaneous human-robot encounters, Hemkumar is helping to define how society will coexist with autonomous machines.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1