Nina Dethlefs

Heriot-Watt University, University of Hull

Papers

6

Total Citations

43

H-Index

4

About

Nina Dethlefs is a leading researcher at the intersection of machine learning, interactive systems, and robotics, with a particular focus on how machines can perceive, act, and communicate seamlessly with humans. Her work centers on developing scalable reinforcement learning (RL) frameworks for conversational agents and social robots, addressing the critical challenge of policy optimization in large, complex domains. Dethlefs has made major contributions through her pioneering work on nonstrict hierarchical reinforcement learning, which introduces flexible state transitions and linear function approximation to overcome scalability limitations in dialogue systems. Her research has been widely recognized, with her most-cited paper on machine learning for interactive systems and robots accumulating 16 citations, while her work on hierarchical dialogue policy learning and multimodal interaction has garnered significant attention in the field. Notably, she co-edited a special issue on machine learning for multiple modalities in interactive systems and robots, highlighting the importance of integrating speech, gestures, and vision. Dethlefs’s work bridges the gap between perception, action, and communication, advancing the development of more natural and effective human-robot interaction.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

4
H-Index
6
Papers
43
Total Citations
7
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
Machine learning for interactive systems and robots
16 citations · 2013
📈 Most Prolific Year: 2013 (2 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 10
🏛 Institutions: Heriot-Watt University, University of Hull

Top Papers

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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
Content generated · 12 days ago