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About

Paul Luff is a prominent researcher whose work sits at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI), computer-supported cooperative work, and the social organization of everyday practice. Drawing heavily on ethnomethodological and conversation analytic approaches, Luff has made significant contributions to understanding how people engage with robotic systems in naturalistic settings. His influential work on museum guide robots — including "Revealing Gauguin" (81 citations) and studies on contingent entry into interaction (61 citations) — demonstrates how robots can be designed to initiate and sustain meaningful engagement with untrained visitors encountering technology in the wild. His research on remote collaboration through mobile robots (50 citations) introduced the concept of "dual ecologies," highlighting the distinct social environments that mediate telepresence communication. Beyond robotics, Luff has examined the fine-grained materialities of professional practice, exploring how surgical teams exchange instruments in operating theatres (37 citations) and how objects mediate coordinated action in organizational settings. His more recent work addresses fairness in robot navigation (33 citations) and how users dynamically assess a robot's competence during first encounters (28 citations). Collectively, his scholarship has shaped how researchers and designers think about socially situated, human-centered robotic systems.