I am an Assistant Professor of Computer Science (Lecturer in UK) at the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University, United Kingdom. My research is focused on human-robot interaction, explainability in robotics, interaction design, and child-robot interaction. Previously, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Division of Robotics, Perception, and Learning (RPL) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden since October 2021. During my Postdoc, I worked with Iolanda Leite and her group, where I participated in teaching the Social robotics course with the rest of the teaching team in Falls of 2021, 2022, and 2023.
My current research is focused on multimodal human-robot interaction and understanding and developing explainability in robots and autonomous vehicles using state-of-the-art research in XAI and XAIP (XAI in Planning).
Part of my research is dedicated to exploring the different cognitive processes and interaction modalities involved in human-robot interaction. This includes investigating the required processes, developing them in robots and agents, and studying the influences the robots and agents have on humans interacting with them. So far, I have predominantly worked with children interacting with robots and developing the robots’ cognitive abilities in child-robot interaction and education.
My PhD was conducted as part of a joint doctoral initiative between École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal. My doctoral dissertation was advised by Prof. Ana Paiva, the head of the GAIPS, and Prof. Pierre Dillenbourg, who directs the CHILI lab.
I received my B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology in Iran and my M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in sound and vibration from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea.
Currently, I serve as an associate editor in International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction.