Sara Kielser

Papers

Total Citations

191

H-Index

About

Sara Kielser is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a focus on designing robotic systems that gracefully handle errors in real-world service environments. Her most-cited work, "Gracefully mitigating breakdowns in robotic services" (2010), has garnered 145 citations, establishing her as a leading voice on how robots can recover from mistakes to maintain user trust and service quality. Kielser’s research bridges robotics, psychology, and service design, offering frameworks for robots to acknowledge failures, apologize, and adapt—transforming breakdowns into opportunities for improved interaction. Her contributions are critical as robots increasingly operate in public spaces, from hospitality to healthcare. With a second highly cited paper on the same topic (46 citations), Kielser’s work has shaped best practices for resilient, user-centered robotic systems. Her achievements include influencing industry standards for error recovery and inspiring a new generation of researchers to prioritize graceful failure in autonomous systems.