Kerstin Dautenhahn (born 1964) is a German computer scientist specializing in

social robot A social robot is an autonomous robot that interacts and Human–robot interaction, communicates with humans or other autonomous physical Intelligent agent, agents by following social behaviors and rules attached to its role. Like other robots, ...

ics and

human–robot interaction Human–robot interaction (HRI) is the study of interactions between humans and robots. Human–robot interaction is a multidisciplinary field with contributions from human–computer interaction, artificial intelligence, robotics, natural languag ...

. She is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

, where she holds the Canada 150 Research Chair in Intelligent Robotics and directs the Social and Intelligent Robotics Research Laboratory. Her main research areas include human–robot interaction, social robotics, assistive technology, and artificial intelligence, with an aim to further study topics such as social learning, human-robot collaboration, autobiographic memory, narrative, cooperation and coordination. In the application of these research areas, she has notably been interested in uses of companion robots to support independent living for the elderly, and in the therapy and education of children with autism.

Education and career

Dautenhahn studied biology at

Bielefeld University Bielefeld University () is a public university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization and teaching than the e ...

, earning a diploma there in 1990 and completing her doctorate (

Dr. rer. nat. for, la, Doctor rerum naturalium, Doctor of Natural Sciences, paren=left, ), abbreviated Dr. rer. nat., is a doctoral academic degree awarded by universities in some European countries (e.g. Germany, Austria and Czech Republic) to graduates in phy ...

) in 1993. She was a researcher with the German Society for Mathematics and Data Processing (GMD) from 1993 to 1996, and in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...

, before becoming a lecturer at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

in 1997. She moved to the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a Universities in the United Kingdom, university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield ...

in 2000, and became a full professor there in 2003. She took her present position as Canada 150 Research Chair at the University of Waterloo in 2018, where she is Director of Social and Intelligent Robotics Labortatory (SIRRL), and she remains a visiting professor at the University of Hertfordshire.

Contributions

Dautenhahn is founding editor and co-editor-in-chief of the journal ''Interaction Studies: Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems''. She is also an editorial board member of Adaptive Behavior, Sage Publications; Associate Editor of the International Journal of Social Robotics; associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems; associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, as well as editor of the book series Advances in Interaction Studies. She is also the editor of multiple

edited volume Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

s including ''Human Cognition and Social Agent Technology'' (1999), ''Socially Intelligent Agents: Creating Relationships with Computers and Robots'' (with Alan H. Bond, Lola Cañamero, and Bruce Edmonds, 2002), ''Imitation in Animals and Artifacts'' (with Chrystopher L. Nehaniv, 2002), and ''New Frontiers in Human Robot Interaction'' (with Joe Saunders, 2011). She is on the advisory board of the journal AI and Society (Springer), ACM, SSAISB, and the German organisations GI and GK, as well as a lifelong fellow of AISB, executive board member of the International Foundation for Responsible Robotics. Since 2006 she has also been a member of the Standing Steering Committee of the IEEE conference RO-MAN (Human and Robot Interactive Communication).

Recognition

Dautenhahn was elected as an

IEEE Fellow , the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and ot ...

in 2019 "for contributions to social robotics and human-robot interaction".

References

External links

Social and Intelligent Robotics Research Laboratory
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dautenhahn, Kerstin 1964 births Living people Canadian computer scientists Canadian women computer scientists German computer scientists German women computer scientists Bielefeld University alumni Academics of the University of Reading Academics of the University of Hertfordshire Academic staff of the University of Waterloo Fellows of the IEEE