Michael Kriegel

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About

Michael Kriegel is a researcher whose work sits at the compelling intersection of human-robot interaction and intelligent virtual agents. His primary research areas focus on how people perceive and prefer to interact with embodied artificial companions, and how these agents can manage their own autonomy in socially appropriate ways. Kriegel’s most influential contribution, the 2012 paper *"How Do You Like Me in This: User Embodiment Preferences for Companion Agents"* (24 citations), explores the critical question of how an agent’s physical or virtual form affects user acceptance—a foundational insight for designing relatable AI. In his 2011 work *"Robots Meet IVAs: A Mind-Body Interface for Migrating Artificial Intelligent Agents"* (23 citations), he pioneered a technical framework allowing an AI’s "mind" to move between different robotic and virtual bodies, enabling seamless interaction across platforms. A further notable achievement is his 2011 paper on managing social constraints for robot recharging, where he developed a memory-based system that learns human presence patterns to plan autonomous charging without disrupting users. Through these contributions, Kriegel has helped shape how we design companion agents that are both technically capable and socially aware.