Overview
Our research explores how people perceive, interact with and develop trust in emerging technologies. This includes human–robot interaction, social robots and virtual agents, automotive and autonomous-vehicle interfaces, multimodal displays and haptics, and human-centred digital twins. We examine how the design and behaviour of these systems shape communication, usability, safety and trust.
Research Themes
Our research examines how people interact with emerging technologies across four connected areas, focusing on communication, experience, safety and trust.
Methods and Capabalities
We combine experimental psychology, human–computer interaction and prototype development to study both user behaviour and subjective experience.
Selected Publications
The Effect of Emojis and AI Reliability on Team Performance and Trust in Human–AI Teams
Morgan Bailey, Benjamin Gancz and Frank Pollick
Interaction Studies, 26(2), 357–385, 2025.
This study examines how AI reliability and emoji use influence performance and trust when people collaborate with an AI teammate. Publication
Uncanny Touch? Investigating the Influence of Lifelike Haptic Cues on User Perceptions of a Social Robot
Jacqueline Borgstedt, Shaun Macdonald, Jacob Bhattacharyya, Frank Pollick and Stephen Brewster
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human–Robot Interaction (HRI), 2026.
This research investigates how lifelike haptic cues shape people’s perceptions of touch and social presence in a companion robot. Publication
Light It Up: Evaluating Versatile Autonomous Vehicle–Cyclist External Human–Machine Interfaces
Ammar Al-Taie, Graham Wilson, Euan Freeman, Frank Pollick and Stephen Brewster
ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2024.
This study evaluates external interfaces through which autonomous vehicles can communicate their awareness and intentions to cyclists. Publication
Position Paper: Trust, Teamwork and Digital Twins
Frank Pollick, Morgan Bailey, Jongrae Kim, Mark Freeth, Mai Miller and Livashnee Naidoo
ACM Workshop on Secure and Trustworthy Cyberphysical Systems, 2025.
This paper applies psychological theories of trust and teamwork to understanding how people interact with digital twins. Publication