Gabriel Skantze

In my research I study human communication and develop computational models that allow computers and robots to speak face-to-face with humans. To take part in a conversation, social robots must be able to see the people they are interacting with, hear what they say, interpret what is said in context, take the turn at appropriate places, and express themselves with words, gestures, gaze and intonation. Since social robots are likely to play an important role in our future society, the technology has direct applications, but it can also be used to increase our understanding of the mechanisms behind human communication. This requires an interdisciplinary approach, which includes phonetics, linguistics, language technology and machine learning.

I am also co-founder of the company Furhat Robotics, which develops and sells talking robot heads to researchers, schools, etc.