Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Kelly L.A. van Bindsbergen is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of social robotics, pediatric oncology, and child-robot interaction. Her work focuses on designing autonomous robotic systems that can engage meaningfully with children in sensitive healthcare contexts, particularly pediatric oncology. Her most influential contribution is the development of interaction design principles for eliciting self-disclosure from children, demonstrated in a study with 75 participants where a robot engaged Dutch children in getting-acquainted conversations (23 citations). She further advanced the field by evaluating the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a social robot delivering interactive sleep hygiene education to children with cancer at a pediatric oncology outpatient clinic (23 citations). This work addresses the critical need for interventions to improve sleep—and consequently quality of life—in this vulnerable population. Additionally, van Bindsbergen has surveyed healthcare providers globally to understand their perspectives on deploying social robots in pediatric oncology, identifying key factors for successful clinical integration. Her research uniquely combines rigorous human-robot interaction design with real-world clinical application, demonstrating how autonomous social robots can serve as therapeutic tools to support children facing serious illness.