Five people sit around a conference table having a discussion. Papers, pens, and coffee cups are on the table, along with a humanoid robot head in the centre. Everyone appears engaged and attentive.

Best Paper Award for Research on Conversational Companion Robots

At Digital Futures, we are thrilled to share that our former Digital Futures Postdoc Bahar Irfan has received a Best Paper Award from Frontiers in Robotics and AI for the journal paper titled “Recommendations for Designing Conversational Companion Robots with Older Adults through Foundation Models”. This prestigious recognition follows just a week after a Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) on her work on turn-taking in conversational HRI with Gabriel Skantze.

The paper, a collaborative effort with her supervisors Sanna Kuoppamäki and Gabriel Skantze, was selected as one of the 11 best papers out of 261 publications in the field of robotics from last year. It has also been included in the Editor’s Picks 2024 e-book, showcasing outstanding research across various domains including robotic rehabilitation, space robotics, and autonomous navigation.

We are very proud of Bahar’s achievements and the contributions she has made to advancing the understanding of human-robot interaction.

Text: Johanna Gavefalk

More news

A woman interviews a man with glasses in a lab setting, holding a TV4 microphone. Behind them, a screen displays a Volvo car dashboard. Swedish text and project headline appear on the screen.

CAVeaT project featured on Swedish national TV

01/09/2025

On 5 June 2025, the Connected Automated Vehicles trialling and Trustworthiness (CAVeaT) project at KTH was highlighted on Nyhetsdagen,...

People stand and converse in a modern, wood-panelled corridor while viewing research posters on the walls at a conference or academic event. Some attendees are reading posters, whilst others are talking in small groups.

Digital Futures Summer Research Internship 2025 concluded with poster session

28/08/2025

The Digital Futures Summer Research Internship (SRI) 2025, which ran for eight weeks from June...

Honorable Mention for Paper on Intimate Technologies

26/08/2025

A team of researchers, including Digital Futures postdoctoral researcher Alejandra Gómez Ortega, received an Honorable Mention Award at...

A smiling woman with long blonde hair and black-rimmed glasses, wearing a green jacket, raises her right hand. The background is blurred with greenery and light.

Digital Futures welcomes new Executive Director

25/08/2025

At Digital Futures, we are proud to announce Annika Szabo Portela as our new Executive Director. Annika Szabo Portela...