Lex Utama

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About

Lex Utama is a researcher whose work lies at the intersection of human-robot interaction and social robotics, with a particular focus on robot etiquette and proxemics. His major contribution is pioneering the study of how robots should approach and interact with groups of people—a critical step beyond the well-established research on one-on-one human-robot encounters. In his landmark 2014 paper, "Robot etiquette," which has garnered 33 citations, Utama systematically investigated participants paired for a task, analyzing both their perceptions and behaviors as they were approached by a robot. This work established foundational principles for designing robots that can navigate the complex social dynamics of group settings. His follow-up study, "Robot Etiquette: How to Approach a Pair of People?" (also 2014, 4 citations), further refined these insights. Utama’s research is notable for addressing a real-world gap: as robots move into public spaces like malls and hospitals, they must be able to politely and safely engage with multiple people simultaneously. His findings have direct implications for the design of service robots, receptionists, and collaborative assistants, making him a key voice in the growing field of socially aware robotics.