Stefan Glasauer

About

Stefan Glasauer is a leading researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with a focus on making robot behavior intuitive, legible, and socially acceptable for human partners. His work bridges robotics, cognitive science, and ethology to understand how humans and robots can coordinate in joint action—from handing over objects to navigating shared spaces. His most cited paper (211 citations) on human-robot handing-over tasks established foundational principles for seamless physical cooperation, while his work on legible robot navigation (90 citations) showed how robots can move in ways that humans naturally understand. Glasauer has also made notable contributions to understanding biological movement perception, demonstrating that robots moving with human-like kinematics are more accepted as interaction partners (68 citations). His interdisciplinary reach extends to comparative cognition, where he has studied intention attribution in marmoset monkeys (46 citations) and how non-human primates perceive robot goals (45 citations). By combining experimental HRI studies with insights from neuroscience and animal behavior, Glasauer has helped shape a human-centered approach to robotics—one where machines adapt to our social expectations rather than the reverse.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Human-robot interaction in handing-over tasks

   211 citations · 2008
2. 2
   Legible robot navigation in the proximity of moving humans

   90 citations · 2012
3. 3
   Interacting in time and space: Investigating human-human and human-robot joint action

   78 citations · 2010
4. 4
   Biological movement increases acceptance of humanoid robots as human partners in motor interaction

   68 citations · 2011
5. 5
   Investigating Human-Human Approach and Hand-Over

   66 citations · 2009
6. 6
   Moving Just Like You: Motor Interference Depends on Similar Motility of Agent and Observer

   53 citations · 2012
7. 7
   Even simple forms of social learning rely on intention attribution in marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus).

   46 citations · 2011
8. 8
   Do robots have goals? How agent cues influence action understanding in non-human primates

   45 citations · 2013
9. 9
   Evaluation of a novel biologically inspired trajectory generator in human-robot interaction

   32 citations · 2009
10. 10
    Human workflow analysis using 3D occupancy grid hand tracking in a human-robot collaboration scenario

    28 citations · 2011

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links