Vassilis-Javed Khan

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Vassilis-Javed Khan is a leading researcher in human-computer interaction, with a primary focus on crowd-powered social robotics and their application to mental health and well-being. His most significant contribution is the development of the "Crowd of Oz" (CoZ) system, a novel framework that enables real-time, natural dialogue between users and social robots like Softbank's Pepper by leveraging synchronous groups of human crowd workers. This approach overcomes the limitations of fully autonomous systems, allowing for more nuanced and empathetic interactions. Khan's work has been particularly impactful in the domain of stress management, as demonstrated by his highly cited 2020 paper on using CoZ for stress relief (24 citations). His research also critically examines user experience factors, such as perceived privacy and interaction quality, when engaging with crowd-operated robots. By pioneering this hybrid human-robot interaction paradigm, Khan has opened new avenues for deploying socially assistive robots in therapeutic contexts, bridging the gap between autonomous AI and human-mediated care.