Mehdi Sobhani

Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, University of Bristol

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Mehdi Sobhani is an interdisciplinary researcher whose work spans robotics, human-robot interaction, and the social dimensions of emerging technology. His most-cited contribution, "What is Robotics Made of? The Interdisciplinary Politics of Robotics Research" (2021, 28 citations), critically examines how robotics is framed as a solution to grand societal challenges—from ageing populations to climate change—while interrogating the field's complex interdisciplinary identity. This foundational work demonstrates Sobhani's ability to bridge technical and sociotechnical perspectives in ways rarely seen in robotics scholarship. More recently, Sobhani has focused on trust and decision-making in human-robot teams, a rapidly growing area of significance for defense, security, and collaborative robotics. His work on mirror neuron-inspired decision-making architectures, swift trust in mobile ad hoc teams, and distributed dynamic team trust collectively advances our understanding of how humans and robots can work together effectively under real-world constraints. His 2025 paper on co-movement and trust development further signals a maturing research agenda centered on the behavioral and psychological dimensions of teaming. With over 40 cumulative citations and a trajectory moving from science and technology studies toward applied human-robot teaming, Sobhani represents a distinctive voice at the intersection of robotics, cognitive science, and social theory.