Neal Finkelstein

United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Neal Finkelstein is a researcher whose work sits at the intersection of human-robot interaction, automation, and cognitive psychology. His scholarship explores how humans perceive, interpret, and respond to robotic systems — questions that carry significant implications for both military and civilian applications of autonomous technology. Finkelstein's most widely cited contribution, "The Mixed Initiative Experimental (MIX) Testbed" (2008, 33 citations), addresses the practical challenges of deploying robotic systems within U.S. Department of Defense frameworks, examining how varying levels of automation affect human operators' ability to collaborate effectively with robotic partners. This work directly engages with critical questions about the future of unmanned military systems. His earlier studies on anthropomorphism reveal how deeply human perception shapes our judgments of machines. In "Anthropomorphism of Robotic Forms" (2005, 29 citations), Finkelstein demonstrated that physical design features — such as edge types and locomotion methods — influence how people attribute aggression, intelligence, and animation to robots. Complementary findings from "Those A-Maze-Ing Robots" (2005, 12 citations) showed that perceived robot ability is driven by form rather than actual behavior, challenging assumptions about rational human assessment of machine performance. Together, these contributions offer foundational insights for researchers and designers working to build more effective and trusted human-robot relationships.