Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Kerstin S. Haring is a prominent researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with particular expertise in cross-cultural perceptions of robots, trust, and the psychological dimensions of human-machine teaming. Her work has fundamentally advanced our understanding of how cultural background shapes attitudes toward robotic systems, as demonstrated by her highly cited 2014 study on cultural differences in robot perception (173 citations) and her comparative research involving Japanese and Australian participants across multiple robot types. A defining contribution of Haring's scholarship is her development of the Form Function Attribution Bias (FFAB) framework, which explains how a robot's physical appearance systematically miscalibrates human expectations — a finding with significant implications for robot design and deployment. Her research consistently bridges psychology, design, and engineering, exploring how anthropomorphism, trust, and compliance evolve during human-robot encounters. With over 660 cumulative citations, her influence extends into emerging challenges: her 2020 paper on COVID-19's impact on HRI research (105 citations) reflects her responsiveness to real-world disruptions in scientific practice. More recently, she has examined robot authority and compliance within human-machine teams, positioning her work at the critical intersection of social robotics and organizational dynamics — making her a key voice in shaping the future of collaborative human-robot systems.