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About

Qiaoning Zhang is an emerging scholar whose research sits at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI), personality psychology, and user experience design. Their most influential contribution, a comprehensive review of personality in human-robot interactions (81 citations), addresses a critical gap in the field by synthesizing fragmented research and working toward a coherent framework for understanding how personality shapes the quality of human-robot relationships. This work has become a foundational reference for researchers navigating this complex domain. Beyond personality, Zhang has broadened their scope to examine how robots can be thoughtfully designed for real-world applications. Their 2024 study applying the Kano model to healthcare robots for older adults offers practical, user-centered insights into promoting independence and improving acceptance of assistive technologies at home. Zhang has also explored automated vehicles as social agents, investigating how voice gender and gender-role congruity influence passenger trust in AI-generated explanations — a timely contribution as autonomous systems become increasingly prevalent. Taken together, Zhang's body of work reflects a commitment to making robot-human interactions more intuitive, trustworthy, and human-centered, establishing them as a promising voice in the rapidly evolving HRI research community.