Eleonora Kostadinova

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About

Eleonora Kostadinova investigates the intersection of human cognition and human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on how social attention mechanisms can be leveraged to improve collaboration with artificial agents. Her most cited work, “Humans Can’t Resist Robot Eyes – Reflexive Cueing With Pseudo-Social Stimuli” (2022, 14 citations), makes a significant contribution by demonstrating that robot eyes can trigger reflexive joint attention—a fundamental social cue—in humans, much like human gaze does. This finding challenges assumptions about the limits of pseudo-social stimuli and opens new pathways for designing more intuitive, responsive robots. By showing that people automatically orient their attention toward robot gaze, Kostadinova’s research has implications for assistive robotics, autonomous systems, and human-robot teaming. Her work bridges cognitive psychology and robotics, offering empirical evidence that even non-biological cues can harness deep-seated social reflexes. As a rising voice in the field, Kostadinova’s studies are shaping how we understand and design for natural, effortless human-robot communication.