About

Steffen Kinkel is a leading researcher at the intersection of industrial manufacturing, human-robot interaction (HRI), and technology acceptance. His work focuses on how collaborative robots (cobots) can be successfully integrated into real-world production environments, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Kinkel’s most influential contribution is a framework identifying the critical success factors for introducing industrial HRI in practice, a study that has garnered 184 citations and serves as a foundational guide for both researchers and practitioners. He also developed a web-based tool to help company representatives analyze factory workers’ acceptance of collaborative robots, addressing a key barrier to adoption. In a highly cited and creatively titled study—“It’s not Paul, it’s a robot”—Kinkel explored how linguistic framing shapes trust and distrust during human-robot interaction, revealing the subtle psychological dynamics at play. His research consistently bridges engineering, psychology, and business strategy, earning him recognition as a key voice in the socio-technical challenges of Industry 4.0. Kinkel’s work is essential reading for anyone interested in making automation not just technically feasible, but socially sustainable.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

6
H-Index
9
Papers
269
Total Citations
30
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
Success factors for introducing industrial human-robot interaction in practice: an empirically driven framework
184 citations · 2020
📈 Most Prolific Year: 2020 (3 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 8
🏛 Institutions: Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Karlsruhe University of Education

Top Papers

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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
Content generated · 13 days ago