Robert Johansson
Papers
2
Total Citations
61
H-Index
2
About
Robert Johansson is a researcher whose work bridges robotics, human-robot interaction, and cognitive systems. His key research areas include stigmergy-based navigation, social robotics, and the use of embodied agents in therapeutic contexts. Johansson’s major contribution is the development of a minimalistic robot navigation system that leverages stigmergy—a coordination mechanism inspired by insect colonies—using an RFID-embedded floor. In his highly cited 2009 paper (52 citations), he demonstrated how robots could leave and follow digital traces in a hexagonal grid of buried RFID tags, enabling decentralized, scalable navigation without complex sensors or centralized control. This work has influenced swarm robotics and ambient intelligence. More recently, Johansson has explored social robotics for mental health, notably creating a psychotherapy training environment using the Furhat robot platform (2017, 9 citations). This system employs a virtual patient embodied in a humanoid robot head, allowing therapists-in-training to practice diagnostic interviews and empathetic communication in a controlled, repeatable setting. By combining minimalist hardware with sophisticated interaction design, Johansson’s research advances both autonomous robot coordination and the practical application of social robots in clinical education.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2