My research goals are to investigate the nature, study and computational modelling of social interactions and social intelligence in particular in the context of humans interacting with robots. While some of my research is basic research I am particularly interested in applications of companion robots in therapy and education of children with autism and supporting elderly persons living at home independently. I am founding Editor in Chief of the Journal Interaction Studies - Social Behaviour and Communication in Biological and Artificial Systems published by John Benjamins Publishing Company, Associate Editor of Adaptve Behavior, Sage Publications, Associate Editor of the International Journal of Social Robotics, published by Springer,  Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development and Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing. I am an Editor of the book series Advances in Interaction Studies, published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. I am on the Advisory Board of the journal AI and Society (Springer). I am a member of IEEE (Senior Member), ACM, SSAISB, and the German organisations GI and GK.