Are future psychologists willing to accept and use a humanoid robot in their practice? Italian and English students' perspective.

Despite general scepticism from care professionals, social robotics research is providing evidence of successful application in education and rehabilitation in clinical psychology practice. In this article, we investigate the cultural influences of English and Italian psychology students in the perception of usefulness and intention to use a robot as an instrument for future clinical practice and, secondly, the modality of presentation of the robot by comparing oral versus video presentation. To this end, we surveyed 158 Italian and British-English psychology students after an interactive demonstration using a humanoid robot to evaluate the social robot’s acceptance and use. The Italians were positive, while the English were negative towards the perceived usefulness and intention to use the robot in psychological practice in the near future. However, most English and Italian respondents felt they did not have the necessary abilities to make good use of the robot. We concluded that it is necessary to provide psychology students with further knowledge and practical skills regarding social robotics, which could facilitate the adoption and use of this technology in clinical settings

Social robots to support practitioners in the education and clinical care of children: The CARER-AID project

The Controlled Autonomous Robot for Early detection and Rehabilitation of Autism and Intellectual Disability (CARER-AID) project aimed at verifying the effects of the introduction of a humanoid robot in the clinical routine as a supervised autonomous assistant to support clinical staff in the care of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) associated with Intellectual Disability (ID). The CARER-AID project was undertaken by a multidisciplinary team composed of experts in artificial intelligence and robotics and clinical psychologists experienced in the treatment of ID. The literature shows that children with ASD seem to prefer robotic devices over non-robotic instruments and indeed humans. Starting from this, CARER-AID clinical studies provided experimental evidence that demonstrated several potential benefits of robot-assisted therapy when treating children with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ASD with or without ID. Alongside the study in a clinical setting, the project also investigated the acceptability and the attitudes towards social robotics in an educational context. The study evaluated the teachers' perception of introducing a humanoid robot in a kindergarten and the attitudes of children with Typical Development (TD) towards. The results of the clinical and educational studies showed the usefulness of social robotics in supporting practitioners in their interventions with both TD and neurodevelopmental disorders. The CARER-AID project offers a unitary vision of a robot that can serve in different aspects and levels of the care, from the education to the therapeutic rehabilitation, from assessment to monitoring of results, providing assistance to caregivers and professionals at school and in clinical settings

Robots in education and care of children with developmental disabilities : a study on acceptance by experienced and future professionals

Research in the area of robotics has made available numerous possibilities for further innovation in the education of children, especially in the rehabilitation of those with learning difficulties and/or intellectual disabilities. Despite the scientific evidence, there is still a strong scepticism against the use of robots in the fields of education and care of people. Here we present a study on the acceptance of robots by experienced practitioners (specialized in the treatment of intellectual disabilities) and university students in psychology and education sciences (as future professionals). The aim is to examine the factors, through the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, that may influence the decision to use a robot as an instrument in the practice. The overall results confirm the applicability of the model in the context of education and care of children, and suggest a positive attitude towards the use of the robot. The comparison highlights some scepticism among the practitioners, who perceive the robot as an expensive and limited tool, while students show a positive perception and a significantly higher willingness to use the robot. From this experience, we formulate the hypothesis that robots may be accepted if more integrated with standard rehabilitation protocols in a way that benefits can outweigh the costs

Personality factors and acceptability of socially assistive robotics in teachers with and without specialized training for children with disability

Personality factors can be predictors of acceptability and intention to use new technologies, especially regarding education and care fields in the whole lifespan. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive factors and attitudes of curricular and specialized teachers towards socially assistive robotics and the intention to use robots in teaching activities. In our research, we investigated the impact of the personality factors measured with the Big Five Questionnaire, on acceptability questionnaires derived by Eurobarometer and by the model Unified Theory of the Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), administered respectively before and after showing the possible uses of the robot NAO in education and teaching. The study was conducted in four schools, participants were 114 teachers (52.07 ± 8.22), aged 26 to 68 years, of the primary and middle school level. The results highlight the primary role of the personality factors Openness to Experience and Extraversion for promoting the acceptability and reduce the prejudicial reject regarding the use of educational and assistive robotic technologies. In conclusion, for using at best robotics in education, teachers need to receive appropriate training - also on the basis of their attitudes and personality traits - to learn how to plan their educational activities integrating the robotics tool

Creativity and authenticity: perspectives of creative value, utility and quality

This paper is written from the perspective of creative practitioners in sound, music and the visual arts teaching in UK higher education. Primarily concerned with the understanding of creativity as a developmental capacity and identifiable and measurable process and outcome, what began initially as a focused discussion about the assessment of creative artefacts developed progressively into a more general analysis of creative value in terms of reception and developmental experience. Recognising the impact of new technologies and the changing conceptions of creative technique and craft, collaboration and origination, and diversification of attendant interpretive meanings inherent with new artistic forms, the study is an attempt to establish a position from which pedagogic practices can be honed and refined to meet the expectations and needs of contemporary practitioners and educational contexts. The objective in any educational experience and any process of artistic creation being to enrich and to effectively inform further development steps, value is therefore a highly diverse and granular commodity, measurable on many different scales, and capable of understanding in many different ways. This is a study of considerations and perspectives and ways of understanding and working with creative value and an attempt to develop a framework through which to base creative decisions as educators and practitioners. Creativity models tend to emphasise utility and originality as the key factors in determining creative value; the wider recognition and impact of the outcomes of creative endeavour preeminent in the interpretation and attribution of quality and significance. Whilst most evident and analytically objectifiable in the study of reception and in the analysis of outcomes, creative practices and processes nevertheless feature more prominently in the interpretation of value in some fields. Whilst the products of the creative practice of artists, musicians and writers retain the centre ground in the discourse of creativity, the authentication of creative endeavour is nevertheless closely connected to the narratives surrounding the inception and development of the work and the security of the connection established between the creative object and the creative originator; the intangible and entirely conceptual matter of attribution and provenance often proving more significant than physical artefact in substantiating at least commercial value in many cases. Investigating the potential for a meaningful definition of ‘authentic creativity’, notions of novelty, ignorance, forgery, fakery, reproduction and patterning, provide a basis for consideration of creativity both as an unstable concept and in parallel as a metaphor for the human condition. Considering the discourse of authenticity and aesthetics, this paper explores different perspectives of creativity as lived experience and positions analysis in the narratives of insight, imagination, and the romanticism of discovery and talent. Introducing an analysis of creativity through a series of conceptual models to illustrate key concepts and ideas, this essay presents a discussion rooted in a context of collapsing distinctions between the natural and the artificial, the authentic and the inauthentic, the original and the copy, and develops a tentative definition of authentic creativity and creative authenticity for wider consideration. That creativity matters in education and society is widely acknowledged and appreciated. This paper argues for a greater focus on the lived experience of creativity and the significance of determining value in terms of human experience over productivity

Service robots, customers and service employees: what can we learn from the academic literature and where are the gaps?

Purpose – Robots are predicted to have a profound impact on the service sector. The emergence of robots has attracted increasing interest from business scholars and practitioners alike. In this article, we undertake a systematic review of the business literature about the impact of service robots on customers and employees with the objective of guiding future research. Design/methodology/approach – We analyzed the literature on service robots as they relate to customers and employees in business journals listed in the Financial Times top 50 journals plus all journals covered in the cross-disciplinary SERVSIG literature alerts. Findings – The analysis of the identified studies yielded multiple observations about the impact of service robots on customers (e.g., overarching frameworks on acceptance and usage of service robots; characteristics of service robots and anthropomorphism; and potential for enhanced and deteriorated service experiences) and service employees (e.g., employee benefits such as reduced routine work, enhanced productivity and job satisfaction; potential negative consequences such as loss of autonomy and a range of negative psychological outcomes; opportunities for human-robot collaboration; job insecurity; and robot-related upskilling and development requirements). We also conclude that current research on service robots is fragmented, is largely conceptual in nature, and focused on the initial adoption stage. We feel that more research is needed to build an overarching theory. In addition, more empirical research is needed, especially on the long(er)-term usage service robots on actual behaviors, the well-being, and potential downsides and (ethical) risks for customers and service employees.Research limitations – Our review focused on the business and service literature. Future work may want to include additional literature streams, including those in computer science, engineering, and information systems.Originality/value – This article is the first to synthesize the business and service literature on the impact of service robots on customers and employees.</div

Choreographic and Somatic Approaches for the Development of Expressive Robotic Systems

As robotic systems are moved out of factory work cells into human-facing environments questions of choreography become central to their design, placement, and application. With a human viewer or counterpart present, a system will automatically be interpreted within context, style of movement, and form factor by human beings as animate elements of their environment. The interpretation by this human counterpart is critical to the success of the system's integration: knobs on the system need to make sense to a human counterpart; an artificial agent should have a way of notifying a human counterpart of a change in system state, possibly through motion profiles; and the motion of a human counterpart may have important contextual clues for task completion. Thus, professional choreographers, dance practitioners, and movement analysts are critical to research in robotics. They have design methods for movement that align with human audience perception, can identify simplified features of movement for human-robot interaction goals, and have detailed knowledge of the capacity of human movement. This article provides approaches employed by one research lab, specific impacts on technical and artistic projects within, and principles that may guide future such work. The background section reports on choreography, somatic perspectives, improvisation, the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System, and robotics. From this context methods including embodied exercises, writing prompts, and community building activities have been developed to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The results of this work is presented as an overview of a smattering of projects in areas like high-level motion planning, software development for rapid prototyping of movement, artistic output, and user studies that help understand how people interpret movement. Finally, guiding principles for other groups to adopt are posited.Comment: Under review at MDPI Arts Special Issue "The Machine as Artist (for the 21st Century)" http://www.mdpi.com/journal/arts/special_issues/Machine_Artis

The influence of culture on attitudes towards humanoid and animal‐like robots: an integrative review

Purpose The aim of the present review is to explore the influence of culture on attitudes towards humanoid and animal‐like robots. Design An integrative review of current evidence. Methods Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched from 2000 to 2017. A total of 22 articles met the inclusion criteria and were retrieved and analyzed. Findings Culture influences attitudes and preferences towards robots, but due to the limitations of the reviewed studies, concrete conclusions cannot be made. More consistent evidence was found with regard to the influence of culture on nonverbal behaviors and communication styles, with people being more accepting of a robot that behaved more closely to their own culture. Conclusions The research field of human–robot interaction provides the current evidence on the influence that culture has on attitudes towards humanoid and animal‐like robots, but more research that is guided by strong theoretical frameworks is needed. Clinical Relevance With the increased use of humanoid robots in the healthcare system, it is imperative that nurses and other healthcare professionals explore and understand the different factors that can affect the use of robots with patients

Social robots as psychometric tools for cognitive assessment: a pilot test

Recent research demonstrated the benefits of employing robots as therapeutic assistants and caregivers, but very little is known on the use of robots as a tool for psychological assessment. Socially capable robots can provide many advantages to diagnostic practice: engage people, guarantee standardized administration and assessor neutrality, perform automatic recording of subject behaviors for further analysis by practitioners. In this paper, we present a pilot study on testing people’s cognitive functioning via social interaction with a humanoid robot. To this end, we programmed a social robot to administer a psychometric tool for detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment, a risk factor for dementia, implementing the first prototype of robotic assistant for mass screening of elderly population. Finally, we present a pilot test of the robotic procedure with healthy adults that show promising results of the robotic test, also compared to its traditional paper version

Service robots and COVID-19: exploring perceptions of prevention efficacy at hotels in generation Z

Purpose: COVID-19 is expected to enhance hospitality robotization because frontline robots facilitate social distancing, lowering contagion risk. Investing in frontline robots emerges as a solution to recover customer trust and encourage demand. However, we ignore how customers perceive these initiatives and, therefore, their efficacy. Focusing on robot employment at hotels and on Generation Z customers, this study aims to analyze guests’ perceptions about robots’ COVID-19 prevention efficacy and their impact on booking intentions. Design/methodology/approach: This study tests its hypotheses combining an experimental design methodology with partial least squares. Survey data from 711 Generation Z individuals in Spain were collected in 2 periods of time. Findings: Generation Z customers consider that robots reduce contagion risk at hotels. Robot anthropomorphism increases perceived COVID-19 prevention efficacy, regardless of the context where the robots are used. Robots’ COVID-19 prevention efficacy provokes better attitudes and higher booking intentions. Research limitations/implications: The sampling method used in this research impedes this study’s results generalization. Further research could replicate this study using random sampling methods to ensure representativeness, even for other generational cohorts. Practical implications: Employing robots as a COVID-19 prevention measure can enhance demand, especially if robots are human-like. Hoteliers need to communicate that robots can reduce contagion risk, particularly in markets more affected by COVID-19. Robots must be employed in low social presence contexts. Governments could encourage robotization by financially supporting hotels and publicly acknowledging its benefits regarding COVID-19 prevention. Originality/value: This study combines preventive health, robotics and hospitality literature to study robot implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on Generation Z guests – potential facilitators of robot diffusionCarolan Research Forum – ORT 2020; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, project PID2020-113561RB-I0