Shane Saunderson
University of Toronto, McGill University, Intelligent Machines (Sweden)
Papers
10
Total Citations
910
H-Index
9
About
Shane Saunderson’s research lies at the compelling intersection of social robotics and human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on how robots can effectively persuade and influence human behavior. His foundational survey on nonverbal communication in social HRI, cited over 296 times, established a critical framework for understanding how robots’ physical cues shape human responses. Saunderson’s work on robot persuasion strategies—exploring the effects of authority, directness, and familiarity—has been instrumental in revealing that persuasive robots should actually avoid projecting formal authority to be effective, a counterintuitive finding with profound implications for healthcare, education, and collaborative settings. Beyond social interaction, Saunderson contributed significantly to amphibious robotics through his work on the AQUA robot, a visually guided, legged vehicle capable of swimming, walking, and underwater navigation, which has garnered over 240 citations. His innovative approaches to environment identification and cooperative behavior learning using parallel hidden Markov models further demonstrate his versatility. With over 900 total citations across his publications, Saunderson’s research continues to shape how robots understand and influence the humans they serve.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2AQUA: An Amphibious Autonomous Robot241 citations · 2007
- 3A visually guided swimming robot138 citations · 2005
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