Alia Amin

Papers

Total Citations

108

H-Index

About

Alia Amin is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with a particular focus on the social and psychological dimensions of how people relate to embodied robotic agents. Her most influential work explores the nuanced role of physical touch and autonomous behavior in shaping human perceptions of robots — a dimension of HRI that remained largely overlooked before her contributions. In her landmark 2009 paper, "'Give me a hug': the effects of touch and autonomy on people's responses to embodied social agents," which has garnered 67 citations, Amin examined how programmed social behaviors — particularly touch — influence human responses to robots. Her subsequent research reinforced these findings, demonstrating through carefully designed video-based experimental studies that touch and proactive robot behavior interact in meaningful ways, affecting user attitudes and comfort levels during human-robot encounters. Collectively, her work has accumulated over 100 citations, establishing her as an important early voice in the emerging field of social robotics. By bringing social psychology principles into the study of robot design and behavior, Amin helped lay the groundwork for creating more intuitive, human-centered robotic systems — insights that continue to inform how researchers and designers think about robot embodiment and interpersonal dynamics today.