Springer Science and Business Media LLC

We present one way of constructing a social robot, such that it is able to interact with humans using multiple modalities. The robotic system is able to direct attention towards the dominant speaker using sound source localization and face detection, it is capable of identifying persons using face recognition and speaker identification and the system is able to communicate and engage in a dialog with humans by using speech recognition, speech synthesis and different facial expressions. The software is built upon the open-source robot operating system framework and our software is made publicly available. Furthermore, the electrical parts (sensors, laptop, base platform, etc.) are standard components, thus allowing for replicating the system. The design of the robot is unique and we justify why this design is suitable for our robot and the intended use. By making software, hardware and design accessible to everyone, we make research in social robotics available to a broader audience. To evaluate the properties and the appearance of the robot we invited users to interact with it in pairs (active interaction partner/observer) and collected their responses via an extended version of the Godspeed Questionnaire. Results suggest an overall positive impression of the robot and interaction experience, as well as significant differences in responses based on type of interaction and gender.

As the field of social robotics has been dynamically growing and expanding over various areas of research and application, in which robots can be of assistance and companionship for humans, this paper offers a different perspective on a role that social robots can also play, namely the role of informing us about flexibility of human mechanisms of social cognition. The paper focuses on studies in which robots have been used as a new type of “stimuli” in psychological experiments to examine whether similar mechanisms of social cognition would be activated in interaction with a robot, as would be elicited in interaction with another human. Analysing studies in which a direct comparison has been made between a robot and a human agent, the paper examines whether for robot agents, the brain re-uses the same mechanisms that have been developed for interaction with other humans in terms of perception, action representation, attention and higher-order social cognition. Based on this analysis, the paper concludes that the human socio-cognitive mechanisms, in adult brains, are sufficiently flexible to be re-used for robotic agents, at least for those that have some level of resemblance to humans.

Hugs are one of the first forms of contact and affection humans experience. Due to their prevalence and health benefits, roboticists are naturally interested in having robots one day hug humans as seamlessly as humans hug other humans. This project’s purpose is to evaluate human responses to different robot physical characteristics and hugging behaviors. Specifically, we aim to test the hypothesis that a soft, warm, touch-sensitive PR2 humanoid robot can provide humans with satisfying hugs by matching both their hugging pressure and their hugging duration. Thirty relatively young and rather technical participants experienced and evaluated twelve hugs with the robot, divided into three randomly ordered trials that focused on physical robot characteristics (single factor, three levels) and nine randomly ordered trials with low, medium, and high hug pressure and duration (two factors, three levels each). Analysis of the results showed that people significantly prefer soft, warm hugs over hard, cold hugs. Furthermore, users prefer hugs that physically squeeze them and release immediately when they are ready for the hug to end. Taking part in the experiment also significantly increased positive user opinions of robots and robot use.

Social isolation in hospitals is a well established risk factor for complications such as cognitive decline and depression. Assistive robotic technology has the potential to combat this problem, but first it is critical to investigate how hospital patients react to this technology. In order to address this question, we introduced a remotely operated NAO humanoid robot which conversed, made jokes, played music, danced and exercised with patients in a London hospital. In total, 49 patients aged between 18–100 took part in the study, 7 of whom had dementia. Our results show that a majority of patients enjoyed their interaction with NAO. We also found that age and dementia significantly affect the interaction, whereas gender does not. These results indicate that hospital patients enjoy socialising with robots, opening new avenues for future research into the potential health benefits of a social robotic companion.

Both designers and users of social robots tend to anthropomorphize robots. Focusing on the question how to conceptualize the relation between robots and humans, this paper first outlines two opposite philosophical views regarding this relation, which are connected to various normative responses to anthropomorphism and anthropomorphization. Then it argues for a third view: navigating between what it calls “naïve instrumentalism” and “uncritical posthumanism”, it develops a hermeneutic, relational, and critical approach. Paradoxically, by unpacking the human dimension of robotics in its use and development, this view enables a critical discussion of anthropomorphizing robots. At the same time, and again somewhat paradoxically, it avoids a naïve instrumentalist position by taking robots’ role as an instrument in a larger con-technology seriously. As such, the third view questions the dualism assumed in the debate. The paper then explores what this means for the field of social robotics and the education of computer scientists and engineers. It proposes a reform based on a relational understanding of the field itself and offers suggestions for the role of users-citizens.

Group identity is important in moral judgments and decisions. People generally favor others who belong to their own group and are more reluctant to report their group members’ wrongdoings to authorities. The current research extends this idea to examine the impact of intergroup relationship on moral judgments in the context of human-robot interaction (HRI). Our results showed that although neither group identity (ingroup or outgroup) nor agent type (human or robot) of the wrongdoers influenced the likelihood to report the wrongdoings, attitudes towards the wrongdoer depended on their group identity. The wrongdoers were evaluated more negatively when they were an ingroup instead of an outgroup member, be it human or robot. Moreover, human wrongdoers were ascribed lesser mental capacities than other humans. The current work highlights the interplay of intergroup dynamics and HRI in the moral domain, providing practical implications for building more cooperative human-robot teams.

Robots are increasingly being used to assist with various tasks ranging from industrial manufacturing to welfare services. This study analysed how robot acceptance at work (RAW) varies between individual and national attributes in EU 27. Eurobarometer surveys collected in 2012 (n = 26,751) and 2014 (n = 27,801) were used as data. Background factors also included country-specific data drawn from the World Bank DataBank. The study is guided by the technology acceptance model and change readiness perspective explaining robot acceptance in terms of individual and cultural attributes. Multilevel studies analysing cultural differences in technological change are exceptionally rare. The multilevel analysis of RAW performed herein accounted for individual and national factors using fixed and random intercepts in a nested data structure. Individual-level factors explained RAW better than national-level factors. Particularly, personal experiences with robots at work or elsewhere were associated with higher acceptance. At a national level, the technology orientation of the country explained RAW better than the relative risk of jobs being automated. Despite the countries’ differences, personal characteristics and experiences with robots are decisive for RAW. Experiences, however, are better enabled in countries open to innovations. The findings are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms through which the technological orientation and social acceptance of robots may be related.

In this paper, stiffness and impedance control concepts are used to solve position and force control for robot-aided rehabilitation. New asymptotic stability conditions are proposed using a suitable Lyapunov approach and based on the relationship between the dynamics of the robot and its energy. The efficiency of the proposed approach is tested on a planar 3 DOF robot-aided rehabilitation constrained to a circular trajectory. The robotic device is configured to be safe and stable in compliant motion in contact with the human arm. It is also designed to be adapted easily to different subjects for performing different tasks. Force and control parameters are tuned using a non linear optimization strategy for which the stability conditions are considered as inequality constraints. Simulation results show that the robot could guide the upper limb of subjects in circular movements under predefined model of the external force and prove the stability and the performances of the compliant motion control strategy.

Around the world there has been growing interest in the use of technologies to connect students who are absent from school because of a health or medical condition to their teachers and peers in school. In this article findings are presented from a scoping review which sought to map the impacts of telepresence robots (TPR) for students who miss school because of illness. In Australia, TPRs are being piloted across the country in efforts to address the isolation of students with chronic illness. However, there is very little research internationally and no research in Australia that maps the potential and issues associated with students who are connected to their classrooms through TPRs. Therefore, research-based guidance regarding how best to direct the successful implementation of TPRs is required. Findings from the limited research available suggest that TPRs can enable positive experiences in education and can foster the social development of chronically-ill students; improvements to the design of TPRs are still required to maximise educational and social benefits; there is a need for appropriate professional learning for teachers in engaging with students through TPRs and for planning between all stakeholders; and, finally, issues of privacy and possible negative reactions from all parties involved need to be addressed.