Aikaterini Zacharopoulou
Papers
1
Total Citations
12
H-Index
1
About
Dr. Aikaterini Zacharopoulou is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of sociotechnical systems and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) safety, with a particular focus on high-stakes search and rescue (SAR) operations. Her most cited work, "A Sociotechnical Approach to UAV Safety for Search and Rescue Missions" (2020, 12 citations), addresses a critical gap in the literature by applying the Systems Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) framework to UAV-assisted SAR missions. Rather than treating safety as a purely technical problem, Zacharopoulou examines how human operators, organizational protocols, and technological systems interact to create or mitigate risks. This holistic perspective has provided SAR teams with actionable insights for designing safer UAV workflows, emphasizing the importance of communication, training, and adaptive decision-making. Her contributions are particularly notable for bridging engineering rigor with real-world humanitarian applications, offering a model for safety analysis that can be extended to other domains like disaster response and critical infrastructure. Zacharopoulou’s work continues to influence both academic research and field practices, underscoring her role as a key voice in the responsible integration of autonomous systems into life-saving missions.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1A Sociotechnical Approach to UAV Safety for Search and Rescue Missions12 citations · 2020