Jodi Forlizzi

About

Jodi Forlizzi is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI), social robotics, and design-centered frameworks, whose work has fundamentally shaped how we understand robots as social actors in everyday human environments. Based at Carnegie Mellon University, Forlizzi has made landmark contributions to understanding how robots integrate into domestic spaces, workplaces, and social contexts. Her early work on humanoid robot perception (489 citations) and her influential framework for classifying social robot properties (437 citations) established foundational vocabulary for the field. Her study of domestic service robots (509 citations) moved HRI research from speculation to empirical reality, while her investigations into robots in organizations (359 citations) broadened the conversation beyond consumer contexts. Forlizzi's design-centered perspective consistently foregrounds the human experience, exploring how robots develop social identities through long-term interaction (402 citations), affective behavior, natural movement, and even storytelling (354 citations). Her work on seamless human-robot handovers (257 citations) demonstrates her ongoing commitment to nuanced physical collaboration. With a body of work exceeding 3,600 citations across these ten papers alone, Forlizzi remains an indispensable voice in shaping robots that are not merely functional, but meaningfully human-centered.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Service robots in the domestic environment

   509 citations · 2006
2. 2
   All robots are not created equal

   489 citations · 2002
3. 3
   A design-centred framework for social human-robot interaction

   437 citations · 2005
4. 4
   Designing robots for long-term social interaction

   402 citations · 2005
5. 5
   Robots in organizations

   359 citations · 2008
6. 6
   A Storytelling Robot: Modeling and Evaluation of Human-like Gaze Behavior

   354 citations · 2006
7. 7
   Natural person-following behavior for social robots

   291 citations · 2007
8. 8
   How robotic products become social products

   258 citations · 2007
9. 9
   Towards Seamless Human-Robot Handovers

   257 citations · 2013
10. 10
    Affective social robots

    251 citations · 2009

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links