A Brief Review on Safety Strategies of Physical Human-robot Interaction

Nowadays, intelligent robotics are found in many places and always seem to be growing in complexity. The need to consider the human-robot interaction was further motivated by a growing number of collisions occurred among humans and robotics. The potential accidents need to be concerned and addressed urgently. This paper briefly reviewed some relevant researches on physical Human-robot Interactions, especially for the safety strategy issues. The suggestion to solve the physical Human-robot Interaction safety issues has been also proposed given to the review works

The Public’s Perception of Humanlike Robots: Online Social Commentary Reflects an Appearance-Based Uncanny Valley, a General Fear of a “Technology Takeover”, and the Unabashed Sexualization of Female-Gendered Robots

Towards understanding the public’s perception of humanlike robots, we examined commentary on 24 YouTube videos depicting social robots ranging in human similarity – from Honda’s Asimo to Hiroshi Ishiguro’s Geminoids. In particular, we investigated how people have responded to the emergence of highly humanlike robots (e.g., Bina48) in contrast to those with more prototypically-“robotic” appearances (e.g., Asimo), coding the frequency at which the uncanny valley versus fears of replacement and/or a “technology takeover” arise in online discourse based on the robot’s appearance. Here we found that, consistent with Masahiro Mori’s theory of the uncanny valley, people’s commentary reflected an aversion to highly humanlike robots. Correspondingly, the frequency of uncanny valley-related commentary was significantly higher in response to highly humanlike robots relative to those of more prototypical appearances. Independent of the robots’ human similarity, we further observed a moderate correlation to exist between people’s explicit fears of a “technology takeover” and their emotional responding towards robots. Finally, through the course of our investigation, we encountered a third and rather disturbing trend – namely, the unabashed sexualization of female-gendered robots. In exploring the frequency at which this sexualization manifests in the online commentary, we found it to exceed that of both the uncanny valley and fears of robot sentience/replacement combined. In sum, these findings help to shed light on the relevance of the uncanny valley “in the wild” and further, they help situate it with respect to other design challenges for HRI

Assessing the Decision-Making Process in Human-Robot Collaboration Using a Lego-like EEG Headset

Human-robot collaboration (HRC) has become an emerging field, where the use of a robotic agent has been shifted from a supportive machine to a decision-making collaborator. A variety of factors can influence the effectiveness of decision-making processes during HRC, including the system-related (e.g., robot capability) and human-related (e.g., individual knowledgeability) factors. As a variety of contextual factors can significantly impact the human-robot decision-making process in collaborative contexts, the present study adopts a Lego-like EEG headset to collect and examine human brain activities and utilizes multiple questionnaires to evaluate participants’ cognitive perceptions toward the robot. A user study was conducted where two levels of robot capabilities (high vs. low) were manipulated to provide system recommendations. The participants were also identified into two groups based on their computational thinking (CT) ability. The EEG results revealed that different levels of CT abilities trigger different brainwaves, and the participants’ trust calibration of the robot also varies the resultant brain activities

Dеvising a Modеl AI-UTAUT by Combining Artificial Inteligence AI with Unifiеd Thеory of Accеptancе and Usе of Tеchnology (UTAUT)

This paper addresses the gap in understanding how traditional technology acceptance models like UTAUT apply to emerging AI technologies. Based on a review of 30 studies using UTAUT, we propose an original AI-UTAUT model that incorporates new determinants such as transparency, explainability, and value alignment specific to AI. This model provides both theoretical advancements and practical insights for the adoption of AI systems. It serves as a framework for analyzing user acceptance in the context of AI, offering strategies for ethical alignment and implementation. Future research directions for validating the model across various sectors are also highlighted. Thе implications of this rеsеarch transcеnd acadеmia, offеring tangiblе stratеgiеs for thе implеmеntation and еthical alignmеnt of AI tеchnologiеs

Examining Applicability of Uncanny Valley Hypothesis: A Large-Scale Study

Despite a growing interest in applying the uncanny valley hypothesis (UVH) in IS studies, there is a paucity of knowledge on the applicability of UVH and its strength. By summarizing a set of attitudinal variables popularized in the extant IS literature on AI robots, this study examined the strength and applicability of UVH on a large, objectively chosen sample of 80 real-world robots face against these variables. We demonstrate that while robot anthropomorphism does affect users’ attitudes toward the robot, its effects do not necessarily follow a UV pattern, and it has a very limited explanatory power toward users’ attitudinal responses. In addition, robot anthropomorphism has a much stronger linear-like association with a perceived social presence than with the commonly used response variable of perceived likability. Our results offer insights into understanding the applicability and strength of the uncanny valley effect and the impacts of robot anthropomorphism on users’ perceptions

Can we control it? Autonomous robots threaten human identity, uniqueness, safety, and resources

Zlotowski J, Yogeeswaran K, Bartneck C. Can we control it? Autonomous robots threaten human identity, uniqueness, safety, and resources. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. In Press;100:48-54