Nicolas Wagner

About

Nicolas Wagner investigates the intersection of human-robot interaction, trust, and proactive dialogue systems, with a focus on designing socially intelligent robots that can collaborate seamlessly with people. His major contributions center on understanding how conversational dynamics—such as dialog content, talk initiative, and gaze behavior—influence human trust, acceptance, and physical proximity toward social robots. His most cited work, “Small Talk with a Robot?” (82 citations), demonstrates that even casual conversation can significantly shape user perceptions. Wagner further explores the role of trust in proactive conversational assistants, emphasizing the importance of anticipating user needs and acting preemptively to foster effective teamwork. He introduced the KURT household assistance robot, a platform capable of initiating sophisticated, context-aware dialogue to become a truly collaborative companion. By incorporating social expectations into dialogue design, Wagner’s research provides foundational insights for building trustworthy robots that communicate naturally and proactively. His work has garnered over 160 citations, reflecting its growing influence in the fields of social robotics and human-robot collaboration.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Small Talk with a Robot? The Impact of Dialog Content, Talk Initiative, and Gaze Behavior of a Social Robot on Trust, Acceptance, and Proximity

   82 citations · 2021
2. 2
   The Role of Trust in Proactive Conversational Assistants

   48 citations · 2021
3. 3
   Including Social Expectations for Trustworthy Proactive Human-Robot Dialogue

   17 citations · 2022
4. 4
   KURT: A Household Assistance Robot Capable of Proactive Dialogue

   7 citations · 2022
5. 5
   How to Address Humans: System Barge-In in Multi-user HRI

   6 citations · 2021

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links