Anara Sandygulova

About

Anara Sandygulova is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with a particular focus on social robotics, robot-assisted therapy, and child-robot interaction. Based at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, her work sits at the intersection of robotics, education, and special needs therapy, making meaningful contributions to how social robots can improve the lives of vulnerable populations. Sandygulova's most influential contribution is her comprehensive scoping review of a decade of human-NAO robot interaction research (99 citations), synthesizing approximately 300 studies to map the evolving landscape of social robotics. Her sustained focus on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD has produced landmark studies exploring long-term robot-assisted therapy (85 citations), patient-centered interaction design, and the nuanced role of parental involvement in therapeutic outcomes. Notably, she has leveraged Kazakhstan's unique transition from Cyrillic to Latin script as a compelling real-world context to examine robots as educational tools (51 citations). Her earlier work investigating how children perceive robot gender, age, and synthesized voice laid important groundwork for designing more relatable and effective social robots. With over 400 cumulative citations across her top papers, Sandygulova's research continues to shape best practices in HRI methodology and robot-assisted interventions globally.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   10 Years of Human-NAO Interaction Research: A Scoping Review

   99 citations · 2021
2. 2
   A Long-Term Engagement with a Social Robot for Autism Therapy

   85 citations · 2021
3. 3
   A Comparison of Social Robot to Tablet and Teacher in a New Script Learning Context

   51 citations · 2020
4. 4
   Age- and Gender-Based Differences in Children’s Interactions with a Gender-Matching Robot

   33 citations · 2018
5. 5
   Interaction design and methodology of robot-assisted therapy for children with severe ASD and ADHD

   29 citations · 2019
6. 6
   Effects of Parental Involvement in Robot-Assisted Autism Therapy

   28 citations · 2022
7. 7
   Robot-Assisted Therapy for Children with ADHD and ASD

   25 citations · 2019
8. 8
   Learning with or from the Robot: Exploring Robot Roles in Educational Context with Children

   24 citations · 2016
9. 9
   Lessons Learned About Designing and Conducting Studies From HRI Experts

   24 citations · 2022
10. 10
    Children’s Perception of Synthesized Voice: Robot’s Gender, Age and Accent

    23 citations · 2015

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links