Sanne van Waveren
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology
Papers
12
Total Citations
280
H-Index
8
About
Sanne van Waveren is a human-robot interaction researcher whose work sits at the intersection of robot failure, embodiment, safety, and accessible robot programming. Best known for her investigations into how humans respond when robots fail, van Waveren has made significant contributions to understanding the social and behavioral dynamics that emerge during imperfect human-robot encounters. Her highly cited work on robot embodiment and conversational failures (earning over 57 and 38 citations respectively) reveals how users perceive and adapt to robotic breakdowns, offering practical insights for designing more resilient and socially aware systems. Her 2019 study comparing human-robot proxemics across virtual reality and real-world settings (74 citations) has become a methodological touchstone for researchers leveraging VR as a testbed for interaction design. Beyond failure and perception, van Waveren has expanded her scope to include drone safety, crowdsourced robot programming, and reinforcement learning policy correction by non-experts — democratizing access to robot customization. Her continued exploration of fictional robot representations and ethical dimensions of imperfect robots underscores a thoughtful, humanistic approach to a field increasingly shaping everyday life.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Comparing Human-Robot Proxemics Between Virtual Reality and the Real World74 citations · 2019
- 2Embodiment Effects in Interactions with Failing Robots57 citations · 2020
- 3Behavioural Responses to Robot Conversational Failures38 citations · 2020
- 4Take One For the Team37 citations · 2019
- 5Increasing Perceived Safety in Motion Planning for Human-Drone Interaction22 citations · 2023
- 6Exploring Non-Expert Robot Programming Through Crowdsourcing14 citations · 2021
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- 9The Imperfectly Relatable Robot7 citations · 2023
- 10