Noel Wigdor

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Noel Wigdor is a researcher whose work sits at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI), child-robot interaction (CRI), and conversational design. His primary research focus is on making robot communication more natural and engaging, particularly for young users. Wigdor’s most significant contribution is his pioneering investigation into **Conversational Fillers (CFs)**—words like “um,” “hmm,” and “ah”—as tools to mitigate the negative effects of response delays in robots. His 2016 paper on this topic, which has garnered 25 citations, demonstrated that combining these fillers with iconic gestures (e.g., a pensive nod) can make robot pauses feel more human-like and less awkward. This work has direct implications for improving the fluidity and social acceptability of real-time HRI. Beyond the lab, Wigdor conducted influential field studies “in the wild” (2014, 9 citations) with children managing diabetes, testing CRI activities for the ALIZ-E project. These studies provided critical insights into the roles and modalities robots should adopt in healthcare settings. By bridging technical design with empirical, child-centered testing, Wigdor has helped shape how robots can use subtle, human-like cues to build rapport and trust—a foundational step toward more empathetic and effective autonomous systems.