Zhegong Shangguan
Cognitive Robotics Lab
Oxford Road
University of Manchester
M13 9PL, UK
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Zhegong Shangguan

上官哲公
Postdoctoral Research Associate | Cognitive Robotics & HRI | Cognitive Robotics Lab | University of Manchester

I am Zhegong Shangguan (上官哲公), a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Cognitive Robotics Lab, University of Manchester, where I work on the ERC-funded e-TALK project under Prof. Angelo Cangelosi. I received my PhD from ENSTA Paris, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, supervised by Prof. Adriana Tapus. My research centers on Cognitive Robotics and Human-Robot Interaction, with a focus on embodied AI, social and affective interaction, and multimodal haptic interfaces for autonomous systems.


My long-term goal is to advance Embodied AI that enables robots to operate robustly in real-world domestic environments and to use robotic platforms as computational simulators for studying human embodied cognition. I also serve as a reviewer for leading journals, including The International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR), ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (ACM THRI), International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI), and Transportation Research Part F.

news

Jun 2026Five papers accepted (2026/06): three at IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026, one at IEEE RO-MAN 2026, and one at TAROS 2026.
Mar 2026Paper accepted at HRI Companion '26 — Fluid-Xpress: Emotion-Aware Dual-Loop Framework for Empathic Facial Reaction in HRI. doi →
Sep 2025Best Paper Finalist at IEEE/RSJ IROS 2025, Abu Dhabi. read →
Sep 2025Invited talk at IROS AV & UX Workshop — "Beyond Signals: Touch, Emotion, and Arousal in Human Driving Behavior".
Mar 2025Paper published in Frontiers in Psychology. doi →
Jan 2024Joined University of Manchester as Postdoctoral Research Associate on the ERC e-TALK project.

publications

2026
Touch2Know
Touch2Know: Dexterous In-Hand Liquid Sensing via Mutual-Capacitance Fingerprints
R Deng, Z Shangguan, Y Hu, H Bai, T Li, A Cangelosi, W Yang
IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026
papervideocode
A Temporally Aligned Multi-modal Free-length-Sequence Predictor
A Temporally Aligned Multi-modal Free-length-Sequence Predictor for Robot Mental-leap Imagination
W Huang, R Ma, Z Shangguan, H Liu, A Di Nuovo, A Cangelosi
IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026
papervideo
Supervising Autonomous Ships
Supervising Autonomous Ships: How Display Modality and Encounter Geometry Shape Trust and Situation Awareness
Z Lu, M Stephenson, B Clement, Z Shangguan, A Tapus
IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026
paper
Depth-Aware Gating
Depth-Aware Gating for Improved Termination Control in Object-Goal Navigation via Reinforcement Learning
K He, Z Shangguan, Y Fu, Z Ma, R Ma, A Di Nuovo, A Cangelosi, F Li
TAROS 2026
paper
RO-MAN Autonomous ship concept
When Transparency Backfires: Trust Repair Strategies in Shore-Based Maritime Autonomous Supervision
Z Lu, Z Shangguan, B Clement, M Stephenson, A Tapus
35th IEEE RO-MAN 2026
paper
ICSR 2026 paper
Understanding Driver Profiles Through Personality, Driving Style, and Behavior: Towards Adaptive Human-Vehicle Interaction
Shangguan Z., Cangelosi A., Tapus A.
International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR+ART 2026). Springer Nature
paper
Fluid-Xpress: Emotion-Aware Dual-Loop Framework for Empathic Facial Reaction in HRI
C Kang, M Alitai, Y Wang, X Cai, R Ma, A Cangelosi, Z Shangguan
ACM/IEEE HRI 2026
papervideo
Human-to-Robot Imitation with Symbolic Planning in a Unified Latent Space
R Ma, W Huang, Z Shangguan, A Cangelosi, A Di Nuovo
ACM/IEEE HRI 2026
paper
3DVAC-HiPRoM: 3D vision and alignment control-based high-precise robot manipulation for manufacturing resilience
T Li, J Zhao, Z Shangguan, S Shi, T Yuan, S Li, N Ye
Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, vol. 100
paper
📄
Minimal Embodiment Enables Efficient Learning of Number Concepts in Robot
Shangguan Z., Di Nuovo A., Cangelosi A.
arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.11373
paper
2025
Learning from Human Conversations: A Seq2Seq based Multi-modal Robot Facial Expression Reaction Framework in HRI
Shangguan Z., Hei X., Li F., Yu C., Song S., Zhao J., Cangelosi A., Tapus A.
IEEE/RSJ IROS 2025, pp. 7261–7268 🏆 Best Paper Finalist
papervideo
Factors influencing emotional driving: examining the impact of arousal on the interplay between age, personality, and driving behaviors
Shangguan Z., Han X., Mrhasli Y.E., Lyu N., Tapus A.
Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 16, p. 1487493
paper
Enhancing Safety and User Experience in Automated Driving: A Multimodal Comparison of Pneumatic and Vibrotactile Haptic Feedback Takeover Scenarios
Y Liu, Z Shangguan, A Tapus, S Safin, F Détienne, E Lecolinet
34th IEEE RO-MAN 2025, pp. 622–628
paper
📄
Assessing Cognitive Workload and Driver Performance: A Comparative Study of Pneumatic and Vibrotactile Haptic Alerts for Takeover Requests in Autonomous Vehicles
Y Liu, Z Shangguan, F Détienne, S Safin, E Lecolinet
AHFE International Conference: Advances in Human Factors of Transportation, 2025
paper
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Rethinking RoPE: A Mathematical Blueprint for n-Dimensional Positional Embedding
H Liu, L Lin, J Sun, Z Shangguan, M A Alvarez, H Zhou
arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.06308
paper
2024
Using a pneumatic tactile steering wheel to enhance the multi-modal takeover request in smart vehicle
Shangguan Z., Liu Y., Song L., Li T., Tapus A.
International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2024), pp. 122–132. Springer Nature Singapore
paper
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A Unified Framework for Vertical States Estimation: Data-Driven Approach Incorporating Uncertainty
Shangguan Z., Mrhasli Y.E., Atheupe G.P., Mouton X., Monsuez B., Tapus A.
4th International Conference on Robotics and Control Engineering (RobCE 2024), pp. 153–159. ACM
paper
📄
Silicone-based haptic interfaces: Enhancing multimodal interactions through pneumatic tactile feedback
Y Liu, Z Shangguan, A Tapus, S Safin, F Détienne, E Lecolinet
16th IEEE IHMSC 2024, pp. 140–143
paper
📄
Emotion-Adaptive Pneumatic Haptic Systems for Affective Movie Experiences: Integrating Biomimetic Robotics and Machine Learning
Y Liu, Z Shangguan, S Safin, F Détienne, E Lecolinet
IEEE ROBIO 2024, pp. 947–952
paper
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Multimodal Practices to Sustain Multiactivity When Live Streaming
L Song, Z Shangguan
ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences 2024, pp. 369–374
paper
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The Moment That The Driver Takes Over: Examining Trust in Full Self-Driving in A Naturalistic and Sequential Approach
L Song, Z Shangguan
22nd European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (ECSCW 2024)
paper
2023
Robot self-recognition via facial expression sensorimotor learning
Shangguan Z., Ding M., Yu C., Chen C., Tapus A.
32nd IEEE RO-MAN 2023, pp. 2591–2597
paper
2022
What do I look like? A Conditional GAN Based Robot Facial Self-Awareness Approach
Shangguan Z., Yu C., Huang W., Sun Z., Tapus A.
International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2022), pp. 312–324
papervideo
📄
Speech-driven robot face action generation with deep generative model for social robots
C Yu, H Zhang, Z Shangguan, X Hei, A Cangelosi, A Tapus
International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2022), pp. 61–74. Springer 🏆 Best Paper Finalist
paper
📄
What do I look like? Dataset for social robot facial expression self-awareness
Shangguan Z., Yu C., Tapus A.
Workshop on Robot Curiosity in HRI (RCHRI), IEEE/ACM HRI 2022
paper
2021
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Location Information-Assisted Robust Beamforming Design for Ultra-Wideband Communication Systems
L Yang, Z Zhang, X Fang, S Cao, Z Shangguan, S Li
Symmetry, vol. 14
paper
📄
Driving behavior Analysis from multi-modal data
Shangguan Z., Tapus A.
Hi! PARIS Summer School 2021 (poster)
poster

contact

zhegong.shangguan@manchester.ac.uk
Cognitive Robotics Lab · University of Manchester
Oxford Road · Manchester M13 9PL · UK