Bart Craenen

Bart Craenen is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Sensors, Signals & Systems within the School of Engineering & Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on human-robot interaction, planning systems, and explainable AI, with specific applications in underwater robotics and human-aware mission specification.

His primary research spans artificial intelligence, robotics, and human-computer interaction, emphasizing human response modeling, preference elicitation in planning algorithms, and transparent decision-making systems for autonomous robots. He conducts empirical user studies to analyze collaborative human-robot task performance, cognitive load, and behavioral adaptation in joint-task environments.

Analysis of his 2020-2025 publications reveals consistent advancement in explainable planning frameworks, particularly for underwater robotics where human oversight is critical. Key trends include integrating real-time human preferences into mission specification, developing XAIP (Explainable AI Planning) interfaces, and quantifying human behavioral responses during robot task execution. His work bridges theoretical planning algorithms with practical human-robot collaboration scenarios, emphasizing usability and trust calibration.