Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
My research is mostly located at the intersection of developmental and cognitive robotics and human-robot interaction. My research interests include language acquisition in particular and communicative interaction between human and machine in general. My research is heavily influenced by cognitive science, developmental psychology, and conversation analysis.
I have organised workshops at ICRA'20 on human-robot handovers and in the context of the UK-RAS network (WTF workshop on failures and miscommunication in robotic speech interfaces). I act as associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems, and am active reviewer for other robotics and AI conferences and journals.
Overview
I am a Senior Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) and member of the Adaptive Systems Research Group. My research revolves mostly around (robotic) language acquisition and attempts to leverage interactional regularities for the purpose of machine learning akin to how we do it as a species. I have worked on motor resonance between human-robot dyads in the past.
The underlying assumption behind much of my research is that regularities in human social interaction are one of the least understood and most underrated phenomena when it comes to creating artificial intelligence for robots that are ought to interact with humans.
Teaching specialisms
The courses I teach focus mostly on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. On the BSc level, I teach and lead Models and Methods of Computing (4WCM0021), and Introduction to Robotics (4ENT1177).
On the MSc level, I teach and lead the course Theory and Practice of Artificial Intelligence (7WCM0061). I am also involved in teaching AI Robotics and Applications (6COM1036) and Team Research and Development (7COM1079). In the academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22 I have taught Research Methods (7COM1085) in the summer semester (semester C).
Beyond that, I also act as a supervisor for a good number of BSc projects, primarily those that contain an AI element.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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FLUIDITY: Fluidity in Simulated human-robot interaction with speech interfaces
Foerster, F. (PI)
1/03/23 → …
Project: Research
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CATLYP – Connecting All the Lonely People - Seed grant (stage 1)
Foerster, F. (PI) & Warmoth, K. (CoI)
1/11/23 → 31/05/24
Project: Research
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Charting the Current Limits and Developing Future Directions of Speech Interfaces in Robotics
Foerster, F. (PI), Holthaus, P. (CoI) & Wood, L. (CoI)
1/05/22 → 30/09/22
Project: Research
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Robots Learning to Say `No': Prohibition and Rejective Mechanisms in Acquisition of Linguistic Negation
Foerster, F., Saunders, J., Lehmann, H. & Nehaniv, C., 1 Nov 2019, In: ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (THRI). 8, 4, 26 p., 23.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile34 Downloads (Pure) -
Towards Scalable Measures of Quality of Interaction: Motor Interference
Foerster, F., Nehaniv, C. & Dautenhahn, K., 1 Dec 2019, In: ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (THRI). 9, 2, 25 p., 8.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile27 Downloads (Pure) -
Would Human-Robot Interaction Conferences Benefit From More Formal Reporting? Evaluating a Novel Study Reporting Form
Holthaus, P., Rossi, A., Shrestha, S., Louie, W.-Y. G., Ucar, A., Hernández García, D., Foerster, F., Andriella, A. & Bagchi, S., 9 Jun 2025, (Accepted/In press) International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
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Editorial: Failures and Repairs in Human-Robot Communication
Foerster, F. & Holthaus, P., 10 Mar 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Frontiers in Robotics and AI. 12, p. 1-3 3 p., 1583911.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
Open AccessFile27 Downloads (Pure) -
Fast Communicative Interactions and Perceptions of Agency
Foerster, F., 28 Feb 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) Social Robots with AI: Prospects, Risks, and Responsible Methods: Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2024. Seibt, J., Fazekas, P. & Quick, O. S. (eds.). IOS Press, Vol. 397. p. 613 - 617 5 p. (Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications; vol. 397).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution