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About

Hanna Lammi is a leading researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with a focus on deploying social robots in public and care settings. Her work explores how people—especially children and the elderly—respond to robots like Pepper and telepresence systems in real-world environments. Lammi’s major contributions include pioneering field studies in shopping malls, where she demonstrated that social robots attract spontaneous interaction, particularly from children, and that stakeholder expectations (retailers, managers) are critical for successful deployment. Her 2017 paper “Hello Pepper, May I Tickle You?” (108 citations) and her 2019 work on ethical guidelines for telepresence robots in residential care (104 citations) are highly influential, shaping both design and policy. She also contributed to the EU-funded MuMMER project, developing socially intelligent robots for public spaces. With over 400 total citations, Lammi’s research bridges technical development and social impact, offering key insights into how robots can be accepted and integrated into everyday life.