Thomas Beelen

About

Thomas Beelen investigates the intersection of human-robot interaction, child development, and conversational AI, with a focus on how children form relationships with and trust social robots. His most cited work, "Uncanny, Sexy, and Threatening Robots" (21 citations), offers a novel analysis of public reactions to humanlike robots by examining online video commentary, revealing nuanced perceptions beyond the lab. Beelen’s core contribution lies in designing conversational robots that support children’s information retrieval and digital literacy. Through the CHATTERS project, he has developed methods for creating responsible, trustworthy robot interactions that help children navigate cultural heritage archives and search tasks. His research on trust indicators in children’s speech toward robots (2024) pioneers real-time measures to calibrate appropriate trust levels, addressing a critical gap in child-robot interaction methodology. With interdisciplinary approaches bridging psychology, design, and computer science, Beelen’s work has accumulated over 40 citations, establishing him as a thoughtful voice in responsible AI design for young users.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Uncanny, Sexy, and Threatening Robots

   21 citations · 2021
2. 2
   Children’s Trust in Robots and the Information They Provide

   7 citations · 2023
3. 3
   Designing Conversational Robots with Children during the Pandemic

   4 citations · 2022
4. 4
   Interdisciplinary Research Methods for Child-Robot Relationship Formation

   3 citations · 2021
5. 5
   Does your robot know? Enhancing children's information retrieval through spoken conversation with responsible robots

   3 citations · 2021
6. 6
   A Conversational Robot for Children’s Access to a Cultural Heritage Multimedia Archive

   2 citations · 2024
7. 7
   ‘Uhm... Are you sure?’ An Exploratory Study of Trust Indicators in Robot-Directed Child Speech

   1 citations · 2024

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links