Selina Sutton

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About

Selina Sutton’s research lies at the compelling intersection of human-robot interaction, voice user interfaces, and social robotics, where she explores how people perceive and personify machines. Her most-cited work, “The right kind of unnatural” (2019, 30 citations), makes a pivotal contribution by revealing a critical tension: when a robot’s voice and its physical form or non-vocal behaviors send conflicting personification signals, user trust and engagement can break down. This insight challenges designers to harmonize vocal and embodied cues, reshaping how we build socially responsive robots. Sutton’s scholarship is notable for its practical impact on the design of conversational agents and assistive technologies, guiding engineers to create more coherent, trustworthy systems. Her work has been recognized within the human-robot interaction community for addressing the subtle, often overlooked frictions between language and embodiment. For students and researchers, Sutton’s research offers a vital lens on why a robot’s “unnatural” voice can feel right or wrong—and how to bridge the gap between what a robot says and what it does.