Christoph Bartneck

Christoph Bartneck (born 1973) is a professor, researcher, and author specialising in human–computer interaction and industrial design. Bartneck is currently a professor of the computer science and software engineering department at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, and was formerly involved with HIT Lab NZ. As a writer, Bartneck has published books and articles on robotic anthropomorphism, computing ethics, and design, and is an associate editor of the International Journal of Social Robotics. In addition, Bartneck formerly worked for Lego and has written extensive catalogues on minifigs and Lego bricks.

Bartneck has been involved in over 250 papers since completing his thesis in the late 90s, and is a member of several academic organisations, including the New Zealand Association of Scientists.

Early and personal life

Bartneck has had a passion for Lego since he was a child.

In addition to English, Bartneck claims to be able to speak Dutch (also Flemish) and German.

Career

Early career Bartneck worked for Lego in Denmark after graduating.

Academic Bartneck has been involved in over 250 research papers and since completing his thesis in 1997. In 2010 he joined the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Canterbury, and has worked in both HIT Lab NZ (based on campus) and the computer science and software engineering department. Bartneck mainly works in the areas of human–computer interaction, robotics (particularly ethics), and industrial and visual design, and the intersection of these disciplines in computer science and software engineering. In 2016, Bartneck made international headlines after generating an academic paper written with the iOS autocomplete feature, submitted under the alias "Iris Pear"; the paper was accepted and he was invited to speak at the conference, despite the contents of the submission being nonsensical. The stunt was to bring attention to unreliable and illegitimate conferences posing as credible academic sources.

Bartneck is a member of several academic groups including the AI Researchers Association New Zealand, the New Zealand Association of Scientists, and Academic Freedom Aotearoa.

Some of Bartneck's studies have been based on Lego, including a 2013 project which found that minifig face design has become "angrier" since the 1990s, based on an evaluation of 6000 designs and their perceived emotion. In 2018, Bartneck co-authored a paper arguing Lego sets had become "more complex."

Bartneck was a member of the LEGO Mindstorms Developer Network from 2013 to 2014.

Selected written works

The Unofficial LEGO Color Guide (2017) The Middle Earth LEGO Minifigure Catalog: From The Hobbit To Lord of The Rings (2016) The Classic Castle LEGO Minifigure Catalog (2016) The Complete LEGO Minifigure Catalog 1975-2015 (2016) The Ideal Order (2015) The Star Wars LEGO Minifigure Catalog (2012) Learning Roila (2011)

Academic works and collaborations

An Introduction to Ethics in Robotics and AI (SpringerBriefs in Ethics) (2021) Robots in Education: An Introduction to High-Tech Social Agents, Intelligent Tutors, and Curricular Tools (2021) Human-Robot Interaction: An Introduction (2020) Ethik in KI und Robotik (2019) Measurement instruments for the anthropomorphism, animacy, likeability, perceived intelligence, and perceived safety of robots (2009) A design-centred framework for social human-robot interaction (2004)