Rebecca Stafford
Papers
17
Total Citations
1,124
H-Index
13
About
Rebecca Stafford is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction (HRI), with a particular focus on the use of assistive and healthcare robots for older adults. Her work sits at the intersection of social psychology, gerontology, and robotics, exploring how elderly populations perceive, accept, and benefit from robotic technologies in real-world care settings. Stafford's most influential contributions examine the psychological dimensions of robot acceptance. Her highly cited 2013 studies — accumulating over 260 and 216 citations respectively — investigate how humanlike robot appearances and mind perception shape attitudes toward robots, drawing on Uncanny Valley theory to offer practical guidance for robot designers. Her earlier empirical work demonstrated that direct interaction with robots significantly improves older adults' attitudes and emotional responses, a finding with important implications for technology adoption in aged care. Beyond perception research, Stafford has made substantial applied contributions through the development and field-testing of the HealthBot robot series, deploying service robots in retirement and aged care facilities and rigorously evaluating their real-world benefits and challenges. With a cumulative citation count exceeding 1,000 across her top works, Stafford's research has meaningfully shaped how the robotics community approaches the design and deployment of socially assistive robots for aging populations.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 3Attitudes and Reactions to a Healthcare Robot129 citations · 2010
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- 6Deployment of a service robot to help older people77 citations · 2010
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