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About

Rachael Burns is a robotics and human-robot interaction researcher whose work sits at the compelling intersection of assistive technology, sensory perception, and autism care. Her research focuses on developing socially assistive robots equipped with sophisticated touch-perception capabilities to support children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a population that frequently experiences co-occurring sensory processing challenges. Burns's most influential contribution, "A Robotic Framework to Facilitate Sensory Experiences for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" (2019, 41 citations), established a foundational platform for robot-assisted sensory interventions. Building on this, she pioneered specialist guidelines for touch-perceiving robots and developed a haptic empathetic robot animal designed to respond meaningfully to a child's physical cues — work that has collectively garnered nearly 90 citations across her top publications. Her 2022 study augmenting NAO robots with external tactile sensing demonstrates a pragmatic approach to advancing social-touch robotics without requiring entirely new hardware systems. Earlier work on robotic motion learning and imitation frameworks (2018) reveals the breadth of her contributions to human-robot interaction more broadly. Burns's research is particularly notable for translating technical innovation into real-world therapeutic contexts, making her an important voice in the growing field of robot-assisted autism support.