Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Dr. Laura de Ruiter is a leading voice at the intersection of human-robot interaction and early childhood education, whose work fundamentally shapes how we design technology for and with people. Her research spans two critical domains: the social perception of robots and the development of computational thinking in young children. In a landmark 2012 study (289 citations), she demonstrated that a robot’s voice—its gender and humanness—significantly influences user acceptance and psychological closeness, revealing how subtle design features trigger our innate social scripts. This work, alongside her theoretical contributions on “elicited agent knowledge” (83 citations), provides a foundational framework for understanding anthropomorphism. More recently, Dr. de Ruiter has pioneered accessible assessment tools for early childhood education. She co-developed TechCheck (176 citations), a validated “unplugged” test for measuring computational thinking in young children, and has shown how learning to code fosters these crucial cognitive skills (188 citations). By bridging social robotics with developmental learning, Dr. de Ruiter’s work ensures that technology is not only more human-like, but also more human-centered, empowering the next generation of thinkers.