Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Sooyeon Jeong is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of social robotics, child development, and human-robot interaction, whose work has fundamentally advanced our understanding of how robots can serve as meaningful social and educational partners. Her research spans two interconnected domains: children's cognitive and social engagement with robots, and the therapeutic application of robotic companions in healthcare and mental wellness settings. Jeong's early work demonstrated that young children aged three to five naturally treat anthropomorphic robots as credible informants, retaining information robots share and using nonverbal cues to learn new vocabulary — findings that carry profound implications for educational technology. Her acclaimed Huggable robot project, developed for pediatric hospital settings, showed that socially assistive robots can meaningfully reduce stress, anxiety, and pain in hospitalized children, addressing critical gaps in emotional care delivery. More recently, Jeong expanded her focus to college student mental health, deploying robotic positive psychology coaches in longitudinal studies that demonstrated measurable improvements in psychological well-being. With a cumulative citation count exceeding 900 across her top papers, her research has earned substantial recognition across developmental psychology, human-computer interaction, and clinical care communities, establishing her as a leading voice in socially assistive robotics.