Arlette Umuhoza

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Arlette Umuhoza is a researcher whose work lies at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI) and spoken dialogue systems, with a particular focus on making robotic platforms more accessible to non-experts. Her most cited work, "HRItk: The Human-Robot Interaction ToolKit Rapid Development of Speech-Centric Interactive Systems in ROS" (2012, 10 citations), addresses a critical bottleneck in robotics: the steep learning curve required to build interactive, speech-driven robots. Umuhoza’s major contribution is the design of a toolkit that integrates spoken language understanding, belief tracking, and action management within the Robot Operating System (ROS), enabling rapid prototyping of speech-centric HRI systems. This work has been foundational for researchers seeking to lower the barriers to entry in social robotics, allowing for faster iteration on dialogue and interaction models. While her citation count is modest, the impact of her toolkit is evident in its role as a practical resource for the ROS community, helping to bridge the gap between complex robotic planning and intuitive user interaction. Umuhoza’s research continues to inform efforts in making robots more responsive and communicative, a key step toward their integration into everyday human environments.