Nicander Kemper

Papers

Total Citations

141

H-Index

About

Nicander Kemper is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with a focus on how physical and social cues shape people’s responses to embodied social agents. Their work centers on the psychological and behavioral effects of robot touch, proactive behavior, and autonomy, exploring how these factors influence trust, comfort, and engagement in human-robot encounters. Kemper’s most cited study, “‘Give me a hug’: the effects of touch and autonomy on people's responses to embodied social agents” (2009, 67 citations), revealed that physical contact from robots can significantly alter user perceptions, depending on the robot’s level of autonomy. A related experiment (2009, 37 citations) demonstrated that touch and proactiveness interact in complex ways, affecting how people evaluate robot interactions. Kemper also contributed to methodological rigor in HRI by applying the “Negative Attitude toward Robots Scale” (NARS) to telepresence robots (2010, 37 citations), helping standardize attitude measurement across different robotic platforms. Their research is foundational for designing socially intuitive robots—from caregiving assistants to collaborative coworkers—and continues to inform how robots can use touch and autonomy to build more natural, effective partnerships with humans.