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About

Rebecca Andreasson is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI), affective computing, and user experience (UX) design. Her work fundamentally explores how people can communicate emotions to social robots through touch, a domain she helped establish with her landmark 2017 study on conveying both positive and negative emotions to the Nao robot—a paper that has garnered over 134 citations and remains a cornerstone in affective HRI research. Andreasson’s major contributions center on demonstrating that tactile interaction is not merely functional but deeply emotional: her studies show that users perceive conveying positive, pro-social emotions as significantly more natural and satisfying than negative ones, revealing critical design insights for socially assistive robots. With over 300 total citations across her most-cited works, she has also advanced the human-centered evaluation of social robots, emphasizing that long-term user acceptance hinges on positive UX rather than mere task completion. Her 2017 paper on UX in social HRI and her 2016 work on evaluation challenges are frequently cited as foundational frameworks for designing emotionally intelligent robots. Through her innovative use of wearable affective interfaces and systematic emotion-conveyance studies, Andreasson has shaped how researchers and engineers think about touch as a channel for human-robot bonding, making her a key voice in creating robots that feel genuinely responsive and supportive.