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Dr Carolina Fuentes Toro
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Carolina Fuentes Toro
Senior Lecturer
Overview
I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Robot Interaction. I am a member of the Complex System Research Group and the new Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Human-Machine Systems (IROHMS).
My research focuses on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Socially Responsible Design of emerging technologies. I am particularly interested in understanding the impact of technology through a user-centred research focus in different contexts, e.g. healthcare, domestic environments, factory domains, and the global south.
Publication
2025
- Ahmad, S. M. et al. 2025. "I never imagined a robot speaking Urdu": Exploring the influence of language on robots' acceptance. Presented at: HRI 2025 Melbourne, Australia 4-6 March 2025. HRI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. IEEE. , pp.1186-1190. (10.1109/HRI61500.2025.10974143)
- Ahmad, S. M. et al. 2025. Understanding the impact of robots’ embodiment on user acceptance and engagement: Perspectives of older adults from Pakistan. International Journal of Social Robotics (10.1007/s12369-025-01314-6)
- Ahmad, S. M. et al. 2025. Envisioning social robots in daily life: A home-based design study with older adults in Pakistan. Presented at: BCS HCI Cardiff, UK 9-11 November 2025.
- Dsane-Nsor, S. et al., 2025. Navigating sociocultural tensions in prenatal care: opportunities for digital health from diverse stakeholders in Techiman, Ghana. Presented at: ECSCW 2025 Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 30 June - 4 July 2025. Springer Verlag. , pp.741-784. (10.1007/s10606-025-09521-5)
- Fernández-Zambrano, B. et al., 2025. Care4Plant: Mobile application for informal caregivers. SoftwareX 32 102368. (10.1016/j.softx.2025.102368)
- Gul, A. , Turner, L. and Fuentes, C. 2025. Conventions and research challenges in considering trust with socially assistive robots for older adults. Frontiers in Robotics and AI 12 1631206. (10.3389/frobt.2025.1631206)
- Gul, A. , Turner, L. D. and Fuentes, C. 2025. Perspectives from unpaid carers on socially assistive robot interactions in older adult care. Presented at: 16th International Conference on Social Robotics +AI Odense, Denmark 23-26 October 2024. Social Robotics. Vol. 15563.Lecture Notes in Computer Science Singapore: Springer. , pp.105-118. (10.1007/978-981-96-3525-2_9)
- Ramirez Gomez, A. et al. 2025. Understanding #CreepyTech: Exploring the context of creepiness of emerging technology. Presented at: British Computer Society’s Special Interest Group in Human Computer Interaction Conference (BCS HCI 2025) Cardiff, UK 9-11 November 2025.
- Roig Vilamala, M. et al. 2025. Understanding human-machine team communication from an explainable-AI perspective. Presented at: 34th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) Eindhoven, Netherlands 25-29 August 2025. 2025 34th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN). IEEE. , pp.402-409. (10.1109/ro-man63969.2025.11217893)
2024
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2024. Opportunities and challenges of emerging human-AI interactions to support healthcare in the Global South. Presented at: CSCW '24: The 27th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing San Jose, Costa Rica 9-13 November 2024. Published in: Farzan, R. and Lopez, C. eds. CSCW Companion '24: Companion Publication of the 2024 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. New York, NY: Association for Computing Machinery. , pp.724-727. (10.1145/3678884.3681834)
- Griggio, C. F. et al., 2024. Identifying the values that shape HCI and CSCW research with Latin American communities: A collaborative autoethnography. Presented at: CSCW '24: The 27th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing San Jose, Costa Rica 9-13 November 2024. Published in: Farzan, R. and Lopez, C. eds. CSCW Companion '24: Companion Publication of the 2024 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. Association for Computing Machinery. , pp.545-552. (10.1145/3678884.3681904)
- Gul, A. , Turner, L. and Fuentes, C. 2024. An exploratory analysis of trust in socially assistive robot interactions with unpaid carers of older adults. Presented at: IEEE RO-MAN 2024 Pasadena, CA, USA 26-30 August 2024. 2024 33rd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (ROMAN). IEEE. , pp.1630-1637. (10.1109/RO-MAN60168.2024.10731201)
2023
- Ahmad, S. et al. 2023. Exploring the potential of social robots in supporting home medication management. Presented at: BCS HCI 2023 York, UK 28-29 August 2023. Proceedings BCS Human-Computer Interaction Conference. Electronic Workshops in Computing BCS Learning and Development Ltd. , pp.99-109. (10.14236/ewic/BCSHCI2023.12)
- Cajamarca, G. et al., 2023. Understanding how to design health data visualizations for Chilean older adults on mobile devices. Presented at: DIS '23: Designing Interactive Systems Conference 10 -14 July 2023. DIS '23: Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. New York, NY: ACM. (10.1145/3563657.3596109)
- Fuentes, C. , Porcheron, M. and Fischer, J. E. 2023. RoboClean: Contextual language grounding for human-robot interactions in specialised low-resource environments. Presented at: 5th International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces Eindhoven, Netherlands 19-21 July 2023. Published in: Lee, M. et al., Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces. New York, NY, US: Association for Computing Machinery. (10.1145/3571884.3597137)
- Reynolds-Cuéllar, P. et al., 2023. Para Cima y Pa’ Abajo: building bridges between HCI research in Latin America and in the Global North. Presented at: CHI '23: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Hamburg, Germany 23-28 April 2023. Published in: Albrecht, A. et al., Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY, United States: Association for Computing Machinery. (10.1145/3544548.3581138)
- Rodriguez, I. et al., 2023. InMyDay: a study on input styles for a digital diary for older users. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing 14 , pp.65-74. (10.1007/s12652-019-01213-5)
2022
- Fernández-Vera, F. et al., 2022. Social+Me: a persuasive application to increase communication between students and their support networks in Southern Chile. PeerJ Computer Science 8 e848. (10.7717/peerj-cs.848)
2020
- Campos-Romero, S. et al., 2020. Perceptions on connecting respite care volunteers and caregivers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (8) 2911. (10.3390/ijerph17082911)
2019
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2019. New directions for the IoT: automate, share, build, and care. Presented at: CHI 2019 Glasgow, Scotland 4-9 May, 2019. CHI EA '19: Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM(10.1145/3290607.3299000)
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2019. Tracking the consumption of home essentials. Presented at: CHI '19: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Glasgow, Scotland 4-9 May 2019. CHI '19: Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: Association for Computing Machinery. , pp.1-13. (10.1145/3290605.3300869)
2018
- Abarca, E. et al., 2018. Perceptions on technology for volunteer respite care for bedridden elders in Chile. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being 13 (1) 1422663. (10.1080/17482631.2017.1422663)
2017
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2017. A systematic literature review about technologies for self-reporting emotional information. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing 8 (4), pp.593-606. (10.1007/s12652-016-0430-z)
- Rodríguez, I. et al., 2017. Understanding monitoring technologies for adults with pain: systematic literature review. JMIR 19 (10) e364. (10.2196/jmir.7279)
2014
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2014. Promoting self-reflection of social isolation through persuasive mobile technologies: the case of mother caregivers of children with cancer. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 30 (10), pp.802-814. (10.1080/10447318.2014.927279)
Articles
- Abarca, E. et al., 2018. Perceptions on technology for volunteer respite care for bedridden elders in Chile. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being 13 (1) 1422663. (10.1080/17482631.2017.1422663)
- Ahmad, S. M. et al. 2025. Understanding the impact of robots’ embodiment on user acceptance and engagement: Perspectives of older adults from Pakistan. International Journal of Social Robotics (10.1007/s12369-025-01314-6)
- Campos-Romero, S. et al., 2020. Perceptions on connecting respite care volunteers and caregivers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (8) 2911. (10.3390/ijerph17082911)
- Fernández-Vera, F. et al., 2022. Social+Me: a persuasive application to increase communication between students and their support networks in Southern Chile. PeerJ Computer Science 8 e848. (10.7717/peerj-cs.848)
- Fernández-Zambrano, B. et al., 2025. Care4Plant: Mobile application for informal caregivers. SoftwareX 32 102368. (10.1016/j.softx.2025.102368)
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2014. Promoting self-reflection of social isolation through persuasive mobile technologies: the case of mother caregivers of children with cancer. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction 30 (10), pp.802-814. (10.1080/10447318.2014.927279)
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2017. A systematic literature review about technologies for self-reporting emotional information. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing 8 (4), pp.593-606. (10.1007/s12652-016-0430-z)
- Gul, A. , Turner, L. and Fuentes, C. 2025. Conventions and research challenges in considering trust with socially assistive robots for older adults. Frontiers in Robotics and AI 12 1631206. (10.3389/frobt.2025.1631206)
- Rodríguez, I. et al., 2017. Understanding monitoring technologies for adults with pain: systematic literature review. JMIR 19 (10) e364. (10.2196/jmir.7279)
- Rodriguez, I. et al., 2023. InMyDay: a study on input styles for a digital diary for older users. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing 14 , pp.65-74. (10.1007/s12652-019-01213-5)
Conferences
- Ahmad, S. et al. 2023. Exploring the potential of social robots in supporting home medication management. Presented at: BCS HCI 2023 York, UK 28-29 August 2023. Proceedings BCS Human-Computer Interaction Conference. Electronic Workshops in Computing BCS Learning and Development Ltd. , pp.99-109. (10.14236/ewic/BCSHCI2023.12)
- Ahmad, S. M. et al. 2025. "I never imagined a robot speaking Urdu": Exploring the influence of language on robots' acceptance. Presented at: HRI 2025 Melbourne, Australia 4-6 March 2025. HRI '25: Proceedings of the 2025 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. IEEE. , pp.1186-1190. (10.1109/HRI61500.2025.10974143)
- Ahmad, S. M. et al. 2025. Envisioning social robots in daily life: A home-based design study with older adults in Pakistan. Presented at: BCS HCI Cardiff, UK 9-11 November 2025.
- Cajamarca, G. et al., 2023. Understanding how to design health data visualizations for Chilean older adults on mobile devices. Presented at: DIS '23: Designing Interactive Systems Conference 10 -14 July 2023. DIS '23: Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference. New York, NY: ACM. (10.1145/3563657.3596109)
- Dsane-Nsor, S. et al., 2025. Navigating sociocultural tensions in prenatal care: opportunities for digital health from diverse stakeholders in Techiman, Ghana. Presented at: ECSCW 2025 Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 30 June - 4 July 2025. Springer Verlag. , pp.741-784. (10.1007/s10606-025-09521-5)
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2019. New directions for the IoT: automate, share, build, and care. Presented at: CHI 2019 Glasgow, Scotland 4-9 May, 2019. CHI EA '19: Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM(10.1145/3290607.3299000)
- Fuentes, C. , Porcheron, M. and Fischer, J. E. 2023. RoboClean: Contextual language grounding for human-robot interactions in specialised low-resource environments. Presented at: 5th International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces Eindhoven, Netherlands 19-21 July 2023. Published in: Lee, M. et al., Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Conversational User Interfaces. New York, NY, US: Association for Computing Machinery. (10.1145/3571884.3597137)
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2019. Tracking the consumption of home essentials. Presented at: CHI '19: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Glasgow, Scotland 4-9 May 2019. CHI '19: Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: Association for Computing Machinery. , pp.1-13. (10.1145/3290605.3300869)
- Fuentes, C. et al. 2024. Opportunities and challenges of emerging human-AI interactions to support healthcare in the Global South. Presented at: CSCW '24: The 27th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing San Jose, Costa Rica 9-13 November 2024. Published in: Farzan, R. and Lopez, C. eds. CSCW Companion '24: Companion Publication of the 2024 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. New York, NY: Association for Computing Machinery. , pp.724-727. (10.1145/3678884.3681834)
- Griggio, C. F. et al., 2024. Identifying the values that shape HCI and CSCW research with Latin American communities: A collaborative autoethnography. Presented at: CSCW '24: The 27th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing San Jose, Costa Rica 9-13 November 2024. Published in: Farzan, R. and Lopez, C. eds. CSCW Companion '24: Companion Publication of the 2024 Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. Association for Computing Machinery. , pp.545-552. (10.1145/3678884.3681904)
- Gul, A. , Turner, L. and Fuentes, C. 2024. An exploratory analysis of trust in socially assistive robot interactions with unpaid carers of older adults. Presented at: IEEE RO-MAN 2024 Pasadena, CA, USA 26-30 August 2024. 2024 33rd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (ROMAN). IEEE. , pp.1630-1637. (10.1109/RO-MAN60168.2024.10731201)
- Gul, A. , Turner, L. D. and Fuentes, C. 2025. Perspectives from unpaid carers on socially assistive robot interactions in older adult care. Presented at: 16th International Conference on Social Robotics +AI Odense, Denmark 23-26 October 2024. Social Robotics. Vol. 15563.Lecture Notes in Computer Science Singapore: Springer. , pp.105-118. (10.1007/978-981-96-3525-2_9)
- Ramirez Gomez, A. et al. 2025. Understanding #CreepyTech: Exploring the context of creepiness of emerging technology. Presented at: British Computer Society’s Special Interest Group in Human Computer Interaction Conference (BCS HCI 2025) Cardiff, UK 9-11 November 2025.
- Reynolds-Cuéllar, P. et al., 2023. Para Cima y Pa’ Abajo: building bridges between HCI research in Latin America and in the Global North. Presented at: CHI '23: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Hamburg, Germany 23-28 April 2023. Published in: Albrecht, A. et al., Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York, NY, United States: Association for Computing Machinery. (10.1145/3544548.3581138)
- Roig Vilamala, M. et al. 2025. Understanding human-machine team communication from an explainable-AI perspective. Presented at: 34th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) Eindhoven, Netherlands 25-29 August 2025. 2025 34th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN). IEEE. , pp.402-409. (10.1109/ro-man63969.2025.11217893)
Biography
EDUCATION
- 2017: PhD in Computer Science & Human-Computer Interaction, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- 2013: MSc in Computer Science, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- 2005: BS in Computer Science, University of Santiago of Chile. Minor: Scientific Computing Analyst
CAREER OVERVIEW
- Present: Senior Lecturer, School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University, UK
- 2024-2020: Lecturer, School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University, UK
- 2020-2019: Research Fellow, Horizon Digital Economy Research, University of Nottingham, UK
- 2019-2017: Research Fellow, Mixed Reality Laboratory, School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, UK
- 2016: Assistant Professor, Andrés Bello University, Santiago, Chile
- 2014: Research Intern, Microsoft Research, Redmond, United States
- 2014-2012: Teaching Assistant, Introduction and Advanced Programming, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
- 2012-2005: Project Manager / Software Engineer, Research & Development, Latin Telecomunicaciones S.A./Polycom Chile
Honours and awards
- 2020 SPRITE+ NetworkPlus online sandpit on Trust, Identity, Privacy, and Security in the post-Covid Digital Economy.
- 2019 UK Digital Economy Crucible 2019, part of CHERISH Digital Economy Research Centre
- 2019 MWIT, Finalist of Midlands Women in Tech Awards 2019, Academic Category.
- 2014 Microsoft Research Latin America Fellowship Research PhD (awarded to 1% of applicants of Latin America graduate students)
- 2013 Google Scholarship plus travel funding to attend the Google Scholars Retreat, awarded to 12 Computer Science student in Latin American.
- 2013 Graduate Research Fellowship, National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile (Conicyt). Full funding (tuition and stipend) for four years, awarded to 20% of applicants.
Professional memberships
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
- ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI)
- ACM Women Europe
Committees and reviewing
- 2020: Virtual Program Co-Chair, The ACM Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW 2020).
- 2020: Associate Chair (AC) Late-Breaking Work the papers program for The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2020).
- 2019: ACM Women Europe, Executive committee Associate, Volunteer Network
- 2019: Associate Chair (AC) Late-Breaking Work the papers program for The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2019).
- 2019: PC member for the 9th International Conference on the Internet of Things (IoT 2019).
- 2016-2017: Student Volunteer Co-Chair, ACM CSCW.
- 2015: Student Volunteer, ACM CSCW.
- 2014: Scientific adviser at IX School Congress of Science and Technology EXPLORA from National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile (Conicyt).
Reviewing
- 2020: ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction
- 2020: MDPI Journal
- 2019 International Conference on the Internet of Things (IoT 2019).
- 2019 CHI ACM Conference.
- 2018 UCAMI - International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence.
- 2018-2017 CHI ACM Conference.
- 2017 Mobile HCI ACM Conference, Journal of Computer in Human Behavior.
- 2015 TEI: ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction.
- 2014 Latinity: Latin American women in technology.
- 2013 Chilean Conference on Human-Computer Interaction.
Supervisions
I am interested in supervising students in research areas including Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Human-Robot Interaction(HRI) and Emerging Technologies, with particular focus on Healthcare, Sustainability, Industry, ICT4D and Complex Scenarios.
Current supervision
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Human Computer Interaction
- Human Centred AI
- Emerging Technologies
- Human Robot Interaction
- Digital health