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About

Sai Krishna Pathi is a researcher specializing in social Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), with a particular focus on spatial awareness, group dynamics, and the integration of robots into human social environments. His work addresses some of the most nuanced challenges in robotics: enabling machines to understand, navigate, and participate in the complex spatial and social patterns that govern human interaction. Pathi's most significant contributions center on F-formation theory — the socio-psychological framework describing how people spatially organize during group interactions. His research has translated this theory into practical robotic systems, developing methods for detecting group formations, estimating optimal robot placement within social groups, and applying these frameworks to mobile robotic telepresence systems. A particularly innovative strand of his work introduced egocentric RGB camera-based distance estimation between humans and robots, garnering 22 citations and advancing robots' ability to perceive social contexts in real time. With cumulative citations exceeding 80 across his key publications, Pathi's research has meaningfully shaped how robots can autonomously join human groups and collaborate within social settings. His contributions span both simulation environments using virtual agents and real-world robotic telepresence systems, demonstrating versatility and practical impact across the broader HRI research community.