Toby Gosnall

Papers

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About

Toby Gosnall is a rising scholar at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI) and ethnographic methodology, whose work redefines how we study and design robots for everyday life. His key research areas include embodied interaction, situated robotics, and the messy, embedded realities of human-robot encounters outside the lab. Gosnall’s major contribution lies in advocating for ethnographic approaches that capture the nuanced, often unpredictable ways robots are integrated into domestic and public spaces. His most-cited work, “Ethnography in HRI: Embodied, Embedded, Messy and Everyday” (2024), has already garnered 4 citations, signaling its growing influence as a foundational text for researchers seeking to move beyond controlled experiments. The paper challenges the field to critically examine who populates these “real worlds” and how power, context, and culture shape interaction. Gosnall’s achievements include shaping the HRI’24 conference theme, which centered on real-world design, and his work is increasingly cited by scholars exploring participatory design and critical robotics. For students and researchers, Gosnall offers a vital framework for grounding HRI in lived experience, reminding us that the most impactful robots are those understood through the eyes of their everyday users.