Topic in Robotics & Autonomous Systems

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

67 labs at 26 universities work on human-robot interaction & assistive robots (part of Robotics & Autonomous Systems). Most at Michigan, CMU and Georgia Tech. 50 published in 2026.

Where they areClick a university to narrow the list

I want to research human-robot interaction & assistive robots in anywhere.

67 labs at 26 universities work on human-robot interaction & assistive robots. Most at 10, 7, 5. 50 of them published in 2026, mostly at ICRA, HRI and CoRL. Earliest deadline: , Dec 1.

Sort

67 labs

USStanfordComputer ScienceDec 8

Dorsa SadighAssociate Professor of Computer Science, of Electrical Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI

Studies robot learning and human-robot interaction, including learning from human preferences.

Manipulation & robot learning
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026Cross-Embodiment Transfer via Behavior-Aligned RepresentationsICRA
2026EXPO: Stable Reinforcement Learning with Expressive PoliciesICLR

80 T1 · 86 papers · 13 members · 35 alumni

USCMURobotics InstituteDec 9

Changliu LiuAssociate Professor

Studies safe and efficient robot control and human-robot collaboration, including verification of neural networks.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Planning, control & multi-robot systems
Efficient training & inference

2026Emergent Neural Automaton Policies: Learning Symbolic Structure from Visuomotor TrajectoriesRSS
2026Inference-Time Robot Behavior Steering through Physically-Aware Reconfiguration of Task-StructureCoRL

43 T1 · 102 papers · 15 members · 34 alumni

USUC BerkeleyElectrical Engineering and Computer SciencesDec 1

Gopala AnumanchipalliAssociate Professor

Works on speech processing and neural speech decoding, including assistive spoken language technologies and speech disorder diagnosis.

Speech recognition & spoken language
Affective & health speech
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026Benchmarking Single-Factor Physical Video-to-Audio GenerationCVPR
2026Evolutionary Strategies at Scale lead to Catastrophic ForgettingACL

40 T1 · 60 papers · 10 members · 10 alumni

USUC BerkeleyElectrical Engineering and Computer SciencesDec 1

Anca DraganAssociate Professor

Works on AI alignment and human-robot interaction, learning from human feedback and modeling human decision-making.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Reinforcement learning
Trustworthy & safe ML

2025Adversaries Can Misuse Combinations of Safe ModelsICML
2025AssistanceZero: Scalably Solving Assistance GamesICML

35 T1 · 37 papers · 8 members · 42 alumni

USUWPaul G. Allen School of Computer Science & EngineeringDec 15

Siddhartha SrinivasaProfessor

Builds full-stack robotic systems for manipulation and assistive feeding, integrating planning, learning and perception.

Manipulation & robot learning
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026Difference-Aware Retrieval Polices for Imitation LearningICLR
2026Extending Robot-Assisted Feeding to Spoon-Based Foods with the Articutool: A Modular Active End-EffectorIROS

31 T1 · 34 papers · 5 members · 143 alumni

USCMURobotics InstituteDec 9

Katia SycaraEdward Fredkin Research Professor / Associate Director of Faculty

Studies multi-robot coordination and human-robot teaming.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Planning, control & multi-robot systems

2026B3C: A Minimalist Approach to Offline Multi-Agent Reinforcement LearningAAMAS
2026Evolving Contextual Safety in Multi-Modal Large Language Models via Inference-Time Self-Reflective MemoryCVPR

30 T1 · 53 papers · 4 members

USCMURobotics InstituteDec 9

Andrea BajcsyAssistant Professor

Studies safe human-robot interaction, combining control theory and machine learning for robots that learn from people.

Manipulation & robot learning
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026A Unified Framework for Robots that Influence Humans over Long-Term InteractionIJRR
2026AnySafe: Adapting Latent Safety Filters at Runtime via Safety Constraint Parameterization in the Latent SpaceICRA

29 T1 · 36 papers · 11 members · 6 alumni

SGNUSDepartment of Computer ScienceDec 15

Harold SohAssociate Professor

Directs the CLeAR group on machine learning and decision-making for trustworthy collaborative robots, from human trust modelling to tactile e-skins.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Human-AI collaboration & trust
Reinforcement learning

2026Abstracting Robot Manipulation Skills via Mixture-of-Experts Diffusion PoliciesICLR
2026Conflict-Aware Additive Guidance for Flow Models under Compositional RewardsICML

26 T1 · 31 papers · 10 members · 24 alumni

USCMUHuman-Computer Interaction InstituteDec 9

Jeffrey BighamAssociate Professor

Studies human-AI interaction and accessibility, including crowd-powered and AI-powered assistive systems.

Interfaces & interaction techniques
Human-AI collaboration & trust
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026``I followed what felt right, not what I was told'': Autonomy, Coaching, and Recognizing Bias Through AI-Mediated DialogueCHI
2026HIDAgent: A Platform-Agnostic Hardware Bridge for Personal Computer Use AgentsUIST

26 T1 · 36 papers · 3 members · 17 alumni

USCMURobotics InstituteDec 9

Zackory EricksonAssistant Professor

Studies robotic caregiving and physical human-robot interaction for healthcare.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026Bidirectional Human-Robot Communication for Physical Human-Robot InteractionHRI
2026WAFFLE: A Wearable Approach to Bite Timing Estimation in Robot-Assisted FeedingHRI

21 T1 · 29 papers · 19 members · 52 alumni

USUIUCElectrical and Computer EngineeringDec 1

Katherine Driggs-CampbellAssociate Professor

Studies human-centered autonomy, including safe autonomous driving, human-robot interaction and learning-based control.

Manipulation & robot learning
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Embodied & active vision

2025Human-agent joint learning for efficient robot manipulation skill acquisitionICRA
2025Learning coordinated bimanual manipulation policies using state diffusion and inverse dynamics modelsICRA

20 T1 · 36 papers · 13 members · 22 alumni

GBCambridgeComputer Science and TechnologyDec 8

Hatice GunesFull Professor of Affective Intelligence and Robotics

Leads the AFAR Lab on affective computing and social signal processing, building socio-emotionally intelligent social robots and adaptive human-robot…

Social computing & responsible AI
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Affective & health speech

2026Graph in Graph Neural NetworkIJCV
2026Reimagining Social Robots as Recommender Systems: Foundations, Framework, and ApplicationsHRI

18 T1 · 76 papers · 7 members · 11 alumni

USUSCComputer ScienceDec 15

Maja MataricChan Soon-Shiong Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics

Develops socially assistive robots for therapy, rehabilitation and education in the Interaction Lab.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Language & society
Learning & education technology

2026Can LLMs Truly Embody Human Personality? Analyzing AI and Human Behavior Alignment in Dispute ResolutionAAAI
2026Can Large Language Models Infer Human Actions and Motives? Evaluation in Social Prediction and Inspection GamesFindings of ACL

15 T1 · 44 papers · Group size not listed

USMichiganComputer Science and EngineeringDec 15

Anhong GuoMorris Wellman Faculty Development Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering; Assistant Professor, EECS – Computer Science and Engineering

Builds personal assistive technology that combines AI, human-AI interaction and augmented reality to support blind and low-vision users.

Human-AI collaboration & trust
VR, AR & immersive media
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026A11y-CUA Dataset: Characterizing the Accessibility Gap in Computer Use AgentsCHI
2026A11yExtensions: Accessibility Extensions to Augment Mobile AI Assistive Technology In-SituCHI

13 T1 · 27 papers · 6 members · 2 alumni

GBCambridgeComputer Science and TechnologyDec 8

Katie SeabornAssociate Professor

Directs the Aspirational Computing Lab on human-computer interaction with voice assistants, social robots and other agents, including how people perceive…

Interfaces & interaction techniques
Human-AI collaboration & trust
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026Access Over Deception: Fighting Deceptive Patterns through AccessibilityCHI
2026Amend copyright licences to halt AI misuse and reassert human controlNature

12 T1 · 50 papers · 6 members · 13 alumni

SGNTUSchool of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Guoqiang HuProfessor

Works on AI and robotics, including optimization and control, game theory, safe embodied AI and human-robot interaction.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Planning, control & multi-robot systems
Learning theory & optimization

2026Adaptively Distributed Nash Equilibrium Seeking of Noncooperative Games for Uncertain Nonlinear Heterogeneous Multiagent SystemsTAC
2026Randomized Distributed Strategy for a Class of Convex Optimization With Coupling ConstraintsTAC

11 T1 · 41 papers · Group size not listed

USUCSDComputer Science and EngineeringDec 15

Laurel RiekProfessor

Studies human-robot interaction and healthcare robotics, building robots that perceive and adapt to people.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots

2026Disability Justice in Human-Robot Interaction: Reflections on Paternalism, Autonomy, and Care for More Equitable FuturesHRI
2026Human-Robot Teaming in Nursing Simulations: Team Member Communication and Performance EffectsHRI

11 T1 · 32 papers · 8 members · 61 alumni

USUSCDepartment of Aerospace and Mechanical EngineeringDec 15

Satyandra K. GuptaSmith International Professorship in Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science

Develops robotic manufacturing and assembly, including human-robot collaboration and physics-informed planning.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Planning, control & multi-robot systems
Human-AI collaboration & trust

2026Compliant Mechanism for Robotic In-Space Assembly and Learning-Based Safety Limit DetectionAIAA SciTech Forum
2025Force-conditioned diffusion policies for compliant sheet separation tasks in bimanual robotic cellsICRA

11 T1 · 59 papers · 5 members · 63 alumni

USMichiganRoboticsDec 15

Christoforos MavrogiannisAssistant Professor, Robotics

Studies human-robot interaction for navigation in crowds, including shared autonomy and behavior prediction for multi-agent systems.

Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Planning, control & multi-robot systems
Embodied & active vision

2026Bi3: A Biplatform, Bicultural, Biperson Dataset for Social Robot NavigationICRA
2026How Human Motion Prediction Quality Shapes Social Robot Navigation Performance in Constrained SpacesHRI

10 T1 · 24 papers · 6 members · 12 alumni

CNTsinghuaInstitute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS)Feb 28

Mengdi XuAssistant Professor

Works on machine learning for robotics, human-robot interaction, and AI safety.

Manipulation & robot learning
Human-robot interaction & assistive robots
Trustworthy & safe ML

2026Humanoid Badminton: Learning Dynamic Racket Skills from Limited Human Motion DataCoRL
2026MoMaGen: Generating Demonstrations under Soft and Hard Constraints for Multi-Step Bimanual Mobile ManipulationICLR

10 T1 · 18 papers · 5 members

Where they areClick a university to narrow the list

Where they areClick a university to narrow the list

Other topics in Robotics & Autonomous Systems

I want to research human-robot interaction & assistive robots in anywhere.

Dorsa SadighAssociate Professor of Computer Science, of Electrical Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI

Changliu LiuAssociate Professor

Gopala AnumanchipalliAssociate Professor

Anca DraganAssociate Professor

Siddhartha SrinivasaProfessor

Katia SycaraEdward Fredkin Research Professor / Associate Director of Faculty

Andrea BajcsyAssistant Professor

Harold SohAssociate Professor

Jeffrey BighamAssociate Professor

Zackory EricksonAssistant Professor

Katherine Driggs-CampbellAssociate Professor

Hatice GunesFull Professor of Affective Intelligence and Robotics

Maja MataricChan Soon-Shiong Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics

Anhong GuoMorris Wellman Faculty Development Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering; Assistant Professor, EECS – Computer Science and Engineering

Katie SeabornAssociate Professor

Guoqiang HuProfessor

Laurel RiekProfessor

Satyandra K. GuptaSmith International Professorship in Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science

Christoforos MavrogiannisAssistant Professor, Robotics

Mengdi XuAssistant Professor

Where they areClick a university to narrow the list

Other topics in Robotics & Autonomous Systems

I want to research human-robot interaction & assistive robots in anywhere.

Dorsa SadighAssociate Professor of Computer Science, of Electrical Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI

Changliu LiuAssociate Professor

Gopala AnumanchipalliAssociate Professor

Anca DraganAssociate Professor

Siddhartha SrinivasaProfessor

Katia SycaraEdward Fredkin Research Professor / Associate Director of Faculty

Andrea BajcsyAssistant Professor

Harold SohAssociate Professor

Jeffrey BighamAssociate Professor

Zackory EricksonAssistant Professor

Katherine Driggs-CampbellAssociate Professor

Hatice GunesFull Professor of Affective Intelligence and Robotics

Maja MataricChan Soon-Shiong Chair and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics

Anhong GuoMorris Wellman Faculty Development Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering; Assistant Professor, EECS – Computer Science and Engineering

Katie SeabornAssociate Professor

Guoqiang HuProfessor

Laurel RiekProfessor

Satyandra K. GuptaSmith International Professorship in Mechanical Engineering and Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science

Christoforos MavrogiannisAssistant Professor, Robotics

Mengdi XuAssistant Professor