Anna Pillinger

Vienna University of Economics and Business

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Anna Pillinger is a leading voice in human-robot interaction, with a focus on the real-world adoption and social dynamics of commercial companion robots. Her work critically examines why early social robots for private homes have failed, challenging the assumption that their integration is merely a technical or diffusion problem. In her most-cited study (2021, 12 citations), she provides empirical evidence from a seven-month household trial, revealing that participants abandoned robots like Anki Vector after only weeks, often due to unmet social expectations and fragile functionality. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her ethnographic research (2020, 9 citations) explored whether these robots could serve as genuine companions during isolation, uncovering nuanced user relationships that ranged from attachment to disappointment. Pillinger’s contributions are foundational for understanding the gap between robot design and domestic life, and her work is widely referenced by researchers studying long-term adoption, user experience, and the sociology of technology. Her studies offer critical lessons for the next generation of social robotics, emphasizing that success depends not on novelty, but on sustained, meaningful interaction.