Sami Alperen Akgun
Papers
6
Total Citations
183
H-Index
4
About
Sami Alperen Akgun is a researcher specializing in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), social robotics, and affective computing, with a particular focus on bridging the gap between humans and robotic systems through natural and intuitive communication modalities. His most cited work, a comprehensive survey on the design and evolution of social robots (2022, 142 citations), has established him as a valuable contributor to the field, offering evidence-based guidelines that trace the trajectory of social robot development from its origins to emerging frontiers. A recurring theme across Akgun's research is the use of emotion and physiological signals to create more adaptive, human-centered robotic systems. His work on closing the loop in HRI through wearable physiological sensors explores how complex human states like stress and engagement can inform robot behavior in real time. Notably, he has applied these principles to high-stakes environments, investigating how affective expressions can enhance communication in robot-assisted urban search and rescue scenarios — a domain where clarity and efficiency are critical. Across multiple studies involving hundreds of participants, Akgun has demonstrated that emotion-based communication meaningfully improves human-robot collaboration, making his contributions both scientifically rigorous and practically significant.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1A survey on the design and evolution of social robots — Past, present and future142 citations · 2022
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