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About

Catie Cuan is a pioneering researcher working at the intersection of robotics, choreography, and human-robot interaction, whose work fundamentally challenges how we design and perceive expressive robotic systems. Drawing on somatic and choreographic practice, Cuan has developed novel frameworks for understanding how robots communicate through movement in human-facing environments — a critical frontier as robots migrate out of industrial settings into everyday life. Her most influential contribution, "Choreographic and Somatic Approaches for the Development of Expressive Robotic Systems" (2018, 29 citations), established the theoretical groundwork for treating robot movement as inherently performative and contextually interpreted. Through her landmark "Time to Compile" project series — spanning performances, installations, and experimental testbeds — she demonstrated that live art can serve as a rigorous scientific instrument for studying human perceptions of robot expressivity and agency, accumulating over 40 combined citations across multiple publications. More recently, Cuan has expanded into haptic feedback for imitation learning and the creative sonification of robot motion, showing that musical mapping can increase a robot's perceived likability and intelligence. Her unique position straddling artistic residencies and academic robotics laboratories makes her one of the most distinctive voices shaping how humans will meaningfully relate to the intelligent machines entering their world.