Theodora Hamilton-Holbrook
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About
Dr. Theodora Hamilton-Holbrook is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction and social robotics, with a focus on how people perceive and attribute social and emotional qualities to non-humanoid machines. Her work challenges conventional assumptions about robot design, arguing that even minimalist or animal-inspired platforms can elicit rich social responses. Her most-cited study, "Does a ‘robot dog’ need legs, ears, and tail? A comparative analysis of intention- and emotion-attribution to Miro-E and Unitree Go1," is a landmark investigation into how physical form influences users’ willingness to ascribe intentions and emotions to robots. By directly comparing a biomimetic companion robot (Miro-E) with a utilitarian quadruped (Unitree Go1), Hamilton-Holbrook reveals that design features like ears and a tail significantly shape social attribution, even when functionality is similar. This work has already garnered attention for its implications in robot design for therapy, education, and companionship. Dr. Hamilton-Holbrook’s contributions are reshaping how engineers and designers think about the social affordances of robots, making her a rising voice in the field of socially aware robotics.
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