Bringing Human Robot Interaction towards _Trust and Social Engineering

Robots started their journey in books and movies; nowadays, they are becoming an important part of our daily lives: from industrial robots, passing through entertainment robots, and reaching social robotics in fields like healthcare or education. An important aspect of social robotics is the human counterpart, therefore, there is an interaction between the humans and robots. Interactions among humans are often taken for granted as, since children, we learn how to interact with each other. In robotics, this interaction is still very immature, however, critical for a successful incorporation of robots in society. Human robot interaction (HRI) is the domain that works on improving these interactions. HRI encloses many aspects, and a significant one is trust. Trust is the assumption that somebody or something is good and reliable; and it is critical for a developed society. Therefore, in a society where robots can part, the trust they could generate will be essential for cohabitation. A downside of trust is overtrusting an entity; in other words, an insufficient alignment of the projected trust and the expectations of a morally correct behaviour. This effect could negatively influence and damage the interactions between agents. In the case of humans, it is usually exploited by scammers, conmen or social engineers - who take advantage of the people's overtrust in order to manipulate them into performing actions that may not be beneficial for the victims. This thesis tries to shed light on the development of trust towards robots, how this trust could become overtrust and be exploited by social engineering techniques. More precisely, the following experiments have been carried out: (i) Treasure Hunt, in which the robot followed a social engineering framework where it gathered personal information from the participants, improved the trust and rapport with them, and at the end, it exploited that trust manipulating participants into performing a risky action. (ii) Wicked Professor, in which a very human-like robot tried to enforce its authority to make participants obey socially inappropriate requests. Most of the participants realized that the requests were morally wrong, but eventually, they succumbed to the robot'sauthority while holding the robot as morally responsible. (iii) Detective iCub, in which it was evaluated whether the robot could be endowed with the ability to detect when the human partner was lying. Deception detection is an essential skill for social engineers and professionals in the domain of education, healthcare and security. The robot achieved 75% of accuracy in the lie detection. There were also found slight differences in the behaviour exhibited by the participants when interacting with a human or a robot interrogator. Lastly, this thesis approaches the topic of privacy - a fundamental human value. With the integration of robotics and technology in our society, privacy will be affected in ways we are not used. Robots have sensors able to record and gather all kind of data, and it is possible that this information is transmitted via internet without the knowledge of the user. This is an important aspect to consider since a violation in privacy can heavily impact the trust. Summarizing, this thesis shows that robots are able to establish and improve trust during an interaction, to take advantage of overtrust and to misuse it by applying different types of social engineering techniques, such as manipulation and authority. Moreover, robots can be enabled to pick up different human cues to detect deception, which can help both, social engineers and professionals in the human sector. Nevertheless, it is of the utmost importance to make roboticists, programmers, entrepreneurs, lawyers, psychologists, and other sectors involved, aware that social robots can be highly beneficial for humans, but they could also be exploited for malicious purposes

Proto-communication,Social Bonding and Persuasiveness for Minimally Designed Robots Scaffolded by Non-Expert Trainers

豊橋技術科学大

That Robot Touch that Means so Much: On the Psychological Effects of Human-Robot Touch

Robots are unique compared to other forms of artificial intelligence because they own a physical body that allows them to get into physical contact with humans. There is a huge amount of literature and empirical work that demonstrates the importance of touch for the development of man as well as other species as monkeys. Especially, the positive impact of interpersonal touch on health, bonding and attachment has been frequently observed. Furthermore, positive evaluative consequences of interpersonal touch on the toucher, i.e., the initiator of touch, and the surroundings has been revealed, as well as an influence on compliance and helping. Taken together it seems as if touch is a powerful way of nonverbal communication that is capable to increase the well-being of the receiver, and the initiator of touch, too. Against the background of earlier work in the realm of human-computer interaction that demonstrated that people equate interactions with interactive media as computers or robots with interpersonal interactions (media equation: Nass & Moon, 2000; Reeves & Nass, 1996; see also Krämer & Hoffmann, 2016, for an updated overview), it is assumed that touch from a robot can result in comparable positive impacts on human well- being. As a prerequisite for the examination of the physiological and psychological effects of human-robot touch, basic research was first necessary to structure the field of human- robot touch in comparison to interpersonal touch. For that purpose, four empirical studies were conducted that untangled the perception of human-robot touch referring to research on interpersonal touch, to test whether the media equation also applies to a fundamental interpersonal phenomenon such as touch. Therefore, the perception of different forms of human-robot touch with different robots (Study 1 & 2) in different interaction contexts (Study 3) were first considered in the most controllable way by means of the observation and evaluation of photographs. In addition, the underlying appraisal process that decides upon the final reaction to robot touch was theoretically and practically considered based on expectancy violations theory (Burgoon, 1983; Burgoon & Hale, 1988) that originates from the field of interpersonal communication. Finally, actual touch initiated by a robot to participants in a laboratory experiment were regarded and analyzed with respect to the impact of robot touch on participants’ subjective evaluation, as well as on observable reactions as laughing, compliance and helping (Study 4). In conclusion, influencing variables that determine the desirability of human-robot touch were revealed, namely characteristics of the robot (morphology and size), characteristics of the person (e.g., attitudes towards touch, attitudes towards robots, touch expectancies), the intimacy and direction of touch, i.e., who touches whom, and the meaning assigned to human-robot touch regarding relational interpretations of closeness and affection. Finally, positive emotional reactions to actual robot-initiated touch, and heightened compliance have been observed in a laboratory experiment.Roboter sind im Vergleich zu anderen Formen der künstlichen Entitäten einzigartig, da sie über einen physischen Körper verfügen, der ihnen erlaubt, in Berührung mit Menschen zu gelangen. Eine Vielzahl an empirischen Studien konnte bereits zeigen, dass die Bedeutung eine fundamentale Rolle in der Entwicklung von Menschen wie auch anderen Arten wie zum Beispiel Affen spielt. Allem voran wurde die positive Wirkung der zwischenmenschlichen Berührung auf die individuelle Gesundheit wie auch die zwischenmenschliche Bindung häufig belegt. Darüber hinaus wurden positive Konsequenzen der zwischenmenschlichen Berührung auf die Evaluation des Berührers, d. h. des Initiators der Berührung, und der Umgebung aufgedeckt, sowie ein Einfluss auf die Bereitschaft einer Bitte nachzukommen und Hilfeleistung zu zeigen. Zusammengenommen scheint Berührung eine einflussreiche Form nonverbaler Kommunikation zu sein, die in der Lage ist, das Wohlbefinden des Empfängers wie auch Initiators zu erhöhen. Vor dem Hintergrund früherer Arbeiten auf dem Gebiet der Mensch-Computer Interaktion, die zeigen, dass Menschen dazu neigen Interaktionen mit interaktiven Medien wie Computern oder Robotern mit der zwischenmenschlichen Kommunikation gleichsetzen (media equation: Nass & Moon, 2000; Reeves & Nass, 1996; see also Krämer & Hoffmann, 2016, für einen aktuellen Überblick), wird davon ausgegangen, dass eine Berührung durch einen Roboter vergleichbare positive Auswirkungen auf das menschliche Wohlbefinden haben kann. Als Voraussetzung für die Untersuchung der physiologischen und psychologischen Auswirkungen von Mensch-Roboter Berührung war zunächst grundlegende Forschung notwendig, um das Gebiet der Mensch-Roboter Berührung im Vergleich zur zwischenmenschlichen Berührung zu strukturieren. Zu diesem Zweck wurden vier empirische Studien durchgeführt, die dazu dienten die Wahrnehmung und Beurteilung von Mensch-Roboter Berührung mit der der Wahrnehmung und Beurteilung zwischenmenschlicher Berührung zu vergleichen, um anschließend theoretische und empirische Befunde aus dem zwischenmenschlichem Kontext auf den Bereich der Mensch-Roboter Interaktion übertragen zu können. Dazu wurde die Wahrnehmung verschiedener Formen von Mensch-Roboter Berührung mit verschiedenen Robotern (Studie 1 & 2) in verschiedenen Interaktionskontexten (Studie 3) zunächst durch die kontrollierte Beobachtung und Bewertung von Fotos untersucht. Darüber hinaus wurde der zugrundeliegende Beurteilungsprozess, der von der ersten Wahrnehmung von Mensch-Roboter Berührung über die Interpretation und Beurteilung schließlich für die finale Reaktion auf Berührung verantwortlich ist, auf Basis der Expectancy Violations Theory (Burgoon, 1983; Burgoon & Hale, 1988) betrachtet. Abschließend wurde im Rahmen eines Laborexperimentes, der Effekt tatsächlicher Berührung durch einen humanoiden Roboter auf das subjektive Empfinden und beobachtbare Reaktionen wie Lachen, Einwilligungsbreitschaft und Hilfeverhalten untersucht (Studie 4). Zusammenfassend lässt sich feststellen, dass Eigenschaften des Roboters (Morphologie und Größe), Merkmale der Person (z.B. Einstellungen gegenüber zwischenmenschlicher Berührung, Einstellung gegenüber Robotern, Berührungserwartungen), die Intimität und Richtung der Berührung, d.h. wer berührt wen, und die zugeschriebene Bedeutung der Berührung einen Einfluss auf die Wahrnehmung und Akzeptanz on Mensch-Roboter Berührung nehmen. Schlussendlich konnte im Rahmen eines Laborexperimentes gezeigt werden, dass positive emotionale Konsequenzen und eine erhöhte Einwilligungsbereitschaft auf die echte Berührung durch einen Roboter folgten

Persuasiveness of social robot ‘Nao’ based on gaze and proximity

Social Robots have widely infiltrated the retail and public space. Mainly, social robots are being utilized across a wide range of scenarios to influence decision making, disseminate information, and act as a signage mechanism, under the umbrella of Persuasive Robots or Persuasive Technology. While there have been several studies in the afore-mentioned area, the effect of non-verbal behaviour on persuasive abilities is generally unexplored. Therefore, in this research, we report whether two key non-verbal attributes, namely proximity and gaze, can elicit persuasively, compliance, and specific personality appeals. For this, we conducted a 2 (eye gaze) x 2 (proximity) between-subjects experiment where participants viewed a video-based scenario of the Nao robot. Our initial results did not reveal any significant results based on the non-verbal attributes. However, perceived compliance and persuasion were significantly correlated with knowledge, responsiveness, and trustworthiness. In conclusion, we discuss how the design of a robot could make it more convincing as extensive marketing and brand promotion companies could use robots to enhance their advertisement operations

Proceedings of the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics, volume 5

Papers presented at the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics are compiled. The theme of the conference was man-machine collaboration in space. The conference provided a forum for researchers and engineers to exchange ideas on the research and development required for the application of telerobotics technology to the space systems planned for the 1990's and beyond. Volume 5 contains papers related to the following subject areas: robot arm modeling and control, special topics in telerobotics, telerobotic space operations, manipulator control, flight experiment concepts, manipulator coordination, issues in artificial intelligence systems, and research activities at the Johnson Space Center

Investigating the influence of situations and expectations on user behavior : empirical analyses in human-robot interaction

Lohse M. Investigating the influence of situations and expectations on user behavior : empirical analyses in human-robot interaction. Bielefeld (Germany): Bielefeld University; 2010.Social sciences are becoming increasingly important for robotics research as work goes on to enable service robots to interact with inexperienced users. This endeavor can only be successful if the robots learn to interpret the users' behavior reliably and, in turn, provide feedback for the users, which enables them to understand the robot. In order to achieve this goal, the thesis introduces an approach to describe the interaction situation as a dynamic construct with different levels of specificity. The situation concept is the starting point for a model which aims to explain the users' behavior. The second important component of the model is the expectations of the users with respect to the robot. Both the situation and the expectations are shown to be the main determinants of the users' behaviors. With this theoretical background in mind, the thesis examines interactions from a home tour scenario in which a human teaches a robot about rooms and objects within them. To analyze the human expectations and behaviors in this situation, two main novel methods have been developed. In particular, a quantitative method for the analysis of the users' behavior repertoires (speech, gesture, eye gaze, body orientation, etc.) is introduced. The approach focuses on the interaction level, which describes the interplay between the robot and the user. In the second novel method, also the system level is taken into account, which includes the robot components and their interplay. This method serves for a detailed task analysis and helps to identify problems that occur in the interaction. By applying these methods, the thesis contributes to the identification of underlying expectations that allow future behavior of the users to be predicted in particular situations. Knowledge about the users' behavior repertoires serves as a cue for the robot about the state of the interaction and the task the users aim to accomplish. Therefore, it enables robot developers to adapt the interaction models of the components to the situation, actual user expectations, and behaviors. The work provides a deeper understanding of the role of expectations in human-robot interaction and contributes to the interaction and system design of interactive robots

The Chatbots and Their Role in the Progress of Society

In this article, we made a short introduction to chatbots that shows the need for development and their implementation in all economic branches. We covered what a chatbot is and how it works, we made a brief history of its evolution, listed and described the benefits of using the chatbots, but also presented their limitations. Additionally, the article describes five chatbot models developed and implemented in different fields of activity and presents comparisons of the functionalities and applicability of these solutions. In conclusion, we emphasize the interest and concern of business people to expand the use of chatbots in all fields of activity, emphasizing its major contribution to economic progress and the development of society as a whole

Fourth Annual Workshop on Space Operations Applications and Research (SOAR 90)

The proceedings of the SOAR workshop are presented. The technical areas included are as follows: Automation and Robotics; Environmental Interactions; Human Factors; Intelligent Systems; and Life Sciences. NASA and Air Force programmatic overviews and panel sessions were also held in each technical area