Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Steve Yohanan is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on affective touch and social robotics. His most celebrated contribution is the development of the **Haptic Creature**, a small, animal-like robot designed to explore how touch communicates emotion between humans and machines — a research direction that has proven remarkably influential, with his foundational 2011 paper on affective touch in human-robot interaction accumulating over 300 citations. Yohanan's work systematically investigates how robots can serve as therapeutic companions, addressing critical questions about human intent, emotional expectations, and the design of calming interactions. His research demonstrated that robots can effectively convey emotional states through touch alone, opening new possibilities for anxiety management and personal care robotics. His 2015 study on touch-centered calming interactions, with over 100 citations, further cemented his role in advancing socially assistive robotics. Across his career, Yohanan has bridged sensor and actuator design, intelligent computing, and affective science, building a coherent research vision at a time when few were seriously examining touch as a communication modality. For students interested in social robotics or human-computer interaction, his body of work represents essential reading on embodied, emotionally resonant robot design.