Papers
11
Total Citations
183
H-Index
5
About
Sabine Payr is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, social robotics, and the design of long-term relationships between humans and artificial companions. Her work sits at a compelling intersection of social theory, empirical field research, and ethical inquiry, addressing one of the defining challenges of our technological moment: how artificial entities can become meaningful, trusted presences in everyday human life. Payr's most influential contribution — her theoretical framework for human-robot companionship developed through the EU-funded SERA project — has garnered nearly 100 citations and remains a foundational reference for researchers seeking to understand the sociability of robots and agents. Through longitudinal field studies conducted in participants' own homes, she brought rare empirical depth to questions about sustained social engagement, examining everything from conversational closing strategies to the varied styles users develop with virtual butlers over time. Beyond empirical work, Payr has engaged boldly with cultural and ethical dimensions of robotics, exploring how science fiction shapes our expectations of real robots and advocating for a principled ethics of human-robot interaction. Her interdisciplinary range — spanning linguistics, film analysis, and design — makes her scholarship unusually rich, offering students and researchers a holistic lens through which to understand how artificial companions might responsibly enter human social worlds.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 4In Search of a Narrative for Human–Robot Relationships12 citations · 2019
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- 6Research on Social Engagement with a Rabbitic User Interface5 citations · 2009
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- 8SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT WITH ROBOTS AND AGENTS: INTRODUCTION4 citations · 2011
- 9Towards Human–Robot Interaction Ethics4 citations · 2015
- 10Strategic Talk in Film2 citations · 2017