Franziska Babel
Papers
22
Total Citations
567
H-Index
13
About
Franziska Babel is a leading researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI) and educational technology, with particular expertise in trust dynamics, robot acceptance, and conflict resolution in human-robot encounters. Her work has fundamentally advanced our understanding of how people psychologically respond to service robots in real-world and emerging social contexts. Babel's most influential contributions explore the layered nature of trust in HRI, examining how user dispositions, anxiety, and robot behaviors—such as gaze and conversational initiative—shape willingness to engage with robotic systems (87 and 82 citations respectively). She has pioneered research into human-robot goal conflict, developing and testing assertive resolution strategies for autonomous robots navigating shared spaces, with studies spanning laboratory, field, and virtual reality methodologies. Her qualitative fieldwork with autonomous public robots (59 citations) provides rare, ecologically valid insights into real user reactions. Beyond robotics, Babel has made meaningful contributions to immersive virtual reality learning, investigating how prompting strategies and content sequencing optimize knowledge acquisition in VR environments. Her integrated Trustworthiness Beliefs Model further bridges cognitive psychology and robotics by predicting technology acceptance through belief structures. With over 460 cumulative citations across her top works, Babel represents an emerging force shaping the responsible design of socially intelligent robots and next-generation learning technologies.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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