Manuel Castro-Malet
Papers
2
Total Citations
20
H-Index
2
About
Manuel Castro-Malet is a researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction and child development, with a focused expertise on long-term, in-home cohabitation robots for children. His most significant contribution is the development and study of **Haru4Kids (H4K)** , a system that emulates the physical and social presence of a family-oriented robot designed to live with children in their homes for extended periods. In a landmark study, Castro-Malet placed H4K with seven families for two weeks each, collecting rich data on child engagement, activity levels, and family dynamics. This work, detailed in his highly cited 2022 paper (16 citations), provides rare empirical insights into the real-world challenges and opportunities of sustained child-robot cohabitation. His follow-up 2023 study further explores how children’s activity and engagement evolve over time in this unique scenario. By moving beyond short-term lab experiments, Castro-Malet’s research directly informs the design of socially assistive robots that can become trusted, everyday companions for children, addressing critical questions about attachment, privacy, and developmental impact in domestic settings.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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