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About

Theresa Pekarek Rosin is a researcher specializing in human-robot interaction, social robotics, and robot learning, with a particular focus on how robots can engage meaningfully with human users across diverse contexts. Her work explores the intersection of social cognition and machine learning, investigating how crossmodal social interaction can enhance the process by which robots acquire new skills from human teachers. Her most cited study, "Teaching NICO How to Grasp" (2020, 20 citations), demonstrates that embedding social interaction capabilities into robotic systems not only improves learning outcomes but also enriches the subjective experience of the human instructor — a finding with significant implications for domestic robotics and human-robot collaboration. Beyond technical learning paradigms, Pekarek Rosin has employed creative methodologies, including role-playing games inspired by popular culture, to explore how robots can function as engaging educational agents. Her more recent framework for adapting human-robot interaction to diverse user groups reflects a growing commitment to inclusive design, ensuring that social robots can respond flexibly to the varying needs and expectations of real-world populations. Her research contributes meaningfully to building robots that are not merely functional, but genuinely socially competent.