Effects of form and motion on judgments of social robots' animacy, likability, trustworthiness and unpleasantness

One of robot designers' main goals is to make robots as sociable as possible. Aside from improving robots' actual social functions, a great deal of effort is devoted to making them appear lifelike. This is often achieved by endowing the robot with an anthropomorphic body. However, psychological research on the perception of animacy suggests another crucial factor that might also contribute to attributions of animacy: movement characteristics. In the current study, we investigated how the combination of bodily appearance and movement characteristics of a robot can alter people's attributions of animacy, likability, trustworthiness, and unpleasantness. Participants played games of Tic-Tac-Toe against a robot which (1) either possessed a human form or did not, and (2) either exhibited smooth, lifelike movement or did not. Naturalistic motion was judged to be more animate than mechanical motion, but only when the robot resembled a human form. Naturalistic motion improved likeability regardless of the robot's appearance. Finally, a robot with a human form was rated as more disturbing when it moved naturalistically. Robot designers should be aware that movement characteristics play an important role in promoting robots' apparent animacy.This work was partially supported by the Spanish Government through the project call "Aplicaciones de los robots sociales", DPI2011-26980 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Álvaro Castro-González was partially supported by a grant from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Human-Robot Interactions in the Workplace – Key Challenges and Concerns

Theoretical background: The use of robots/AI in the workplace has grown rapidly in the last years. There is observed enlargement not only of the numbers of robots but also the quality of their functions and applications. Therefore, many questions of practical, scientific and moral nature have arisen. The flowering use of robots has drawn scientists’ attention to interactions between humans and robots. As a result, a new multidisciplinary research area – Human-Robot Interactions (HRI) – is growing. Representatives of HRI try to answer the questions like: How anthropomorphic features of robots may affect interactions between robots and employees? How are robots supposed to look and behave to make interactions more pleasant for employees? Can human cooperation with humanoid robots lead to the formation of socio-mechanical bonds?Purpose of the article: The paper aims to identify determinants of human-robot interactions in the workplace and identify key research problems in this area.Research methods: The method of a systematic review of the literature fulfiled the above-mentioned purpose. The Web of Science was chosen as the basic database. The list of publications from the Web of Science was supplemented with some other publications which were related to the topic.Main findings: There are several factors that determine the perception and quality of HRI in the workplace. Especially trust, anthropomorphic features of the robot, and organizational assignment may decide about the human acceptance of the use of a non-human agent and HRI. The concept of social interaction with robots is at an initial stage yet. An adopted research paradigm also plays an important role. It seems that the classical assumptions of organizational sociology will not stand the test of time. Researchers and practitioners are facing new challenges. Especially there are some ontological questions that are not easy to be answered unanimously. Can we treat a robot as a mechanical device or rather as a member of a newly created community

Anthropomorphic Design: Emotional Perception for Deformable Object

Despite the increasing number of studies on user experience (UX) and user interfaces (UI), few studies have examined emotional interaction between humans and deformable objects. In the current study, we investigated how the anthropomorphic design of a flexible display interacts with emotion. For 101 unique 3D images in which an object was bent at different axes, 281 participants were asked to report how strongly the object evoked five elemental emotions (e.g., happiness, disgust, anger, fear, and sadness) in an online survey. People rated the object’s shape using three emotional categories: happiness, disgust–anger, and sadness–fear. It was also found that a combination of axis of bending (horizontal or diagonal axis) and convexity (bending convexly or concavely) predicted emotional valence, underpinning the anthropomorphic design of flexible displays. Our findings provide empirical evidence that axis of bending and convexity can be an important antecedent of emotional interaction with flexible objects, triggering at least three types of emotion in users

로봇의 신체 언어가 사회적 특성과 인간 유사성에 미치는 영향

학위논문 (석사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 사회과학대학 심리학과, 2021. 2. Sowon Hahn.The present study investigated the role of robots’ body language on perceptions of social qualities and human-likeness in robots. In experiment 1, videos of a robot’s body language varying in expansiveness were used to evaluate the two aspects. In experiment 2, videos of social interactions containing the body languages in experiment 1 were used to further examine the effects of robots’ body language on these aspects. Results suggest that a robot conveying open body language are evaluated higher on perceptions of social characteristics and human-likeness compared to a robot with closed body language. These effects were not found in videos of social interactions (experiment 2), which suggests that other features play significant roles in evaluations of a robot. Nonetheless, current research provides evidence of the importance of robots’ body language in judgments of social characteristics and human-likeness. While measures of social qualities and human-likeness favor robots that convey open body language, post-experiment interviews revealed that participants expect robots to alleviate feelings of loneliness and empathize with them, which require more diverse body language in addition to open body language. Thus, robotic designers are encouraged to develop robots capable of expressing a wider range of motion. By enabling complex movements, more natural communications between humans and robots are possible, which allows humans to consider robots as social partners.본 연구는 로봇의 신체 언어가 사회적 특성과 인간과의 유사성에 대한 인간의 인식에 미치는 영향을 탐색하였다. 실험 1에서는 로봇의 개방적 신체 언어가 묘사된 영상과 폐쇄적 신체 언어가 묘사된 영상을 통해 이러한 세 가지 측면을 살펴보았다. 실험 2에서는 실험 1의 신체 언어가 포함된 로봇과 사람 간의 상호작용 영상을 활용하여 로봇의 신체 언어가 위 두 가지 측면에 미치는 영향을 탐색하였다. 결과적으로, 사람들은 폐쇄적 신체 언어를 표현하는 로봇에 비해 개방적 신체 언어를 표현하는 로봇을 사회적 특성과 인간과의 유사성에 대한 인식 면에서 더 높게 평가한다는 것을 확인하였다. 그러나 사람과의 상호작용을 담은 영상을 통해서는 이러한 효과가 발견되지 않았으며, 이는 실험 2에 포함된 음성 등의 다른 특징이 로봇에 대한 평가에 중요한 역할을 한다는 것을 시사한다. 그럼에도 불구하고, 본 연구는 로봇의 신체 언어가 사회적 특성 및 인간과의 유사성에 대한 인식의 중요한 요인이 된다는 근거를 제공한다. 사회적 특성과 인간과의 유사성의 척도에서는 개방적 신체 언어를 표현하는 로봇이 더 높게 평가되었지만, 실험 후 인터뷰에서는 로봇이 외로운 감정을 완화하고 공감하기를 기대하는 것으로 나타나 이 상황들에 적절한 폐쇄적 신체 언어 또한 배제할 수 없다고 해석할 수 있다. 이에 따라 본 연구에서는 로봇 디자이너들이 더욱 다양한 범위의 움직임을 표현할 수 있는 로봇을 개발하도록 장려한다. 그렇다면 섬세한 움직임에 따른 자연스러운 의사소통을 통해 인간이 로봇을 사회적 동반자로 인식할 수 있을 것이다.Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1. Motivation 1 2. Theoretical Background and Previous Research 3 3. Purpose of Study 12 Chapter 2. Experiment 1 13 1. Objective and Hypotheses 13 2. Methods 13 3. Results 21 4. Discussion 31 Chapter 3. Experiment 2 34 1. Objective and Hypotheses 34 2. Methods 35 3. Results 38 4. Discussion 50 Chapter 4. Conclusion 52 Chapter 5. General Discussion 54 References 60 Appendix 70 국문초록 77Maste

A new look at joint attention and common knowledge

Everyone agrees that joint attention is a key feature of human social cognition. Yet, despite over 40 years of work and hundreds of publications on this topic, there is still surprisingly little agreement on what exactly joint attention is, and how the jointness in it is achieved. Part of the problem, we propose, is that joint attention is not a single process, but rather it includes a cluster of different cognitive skills and processes, and different researchers focus on different aspects of it. A similar problem applies to common knowledge. Here we present a new approach: We outline a typology of social attention levels which are currently all referred to in the literature as joint attention (from monitoring to common, mutual, and shared attention), along with corresponding levels of common knowledge. We consider cognitive, behavioral, and phenomenological aspects of the different levels as well as their different functions, and a key distinction we make in all of this is second-personal vs. third-personal relations. While we focus mainly on joint attention and common knowledge, we also briefly discuss how these levels might apply to other ‘joint’ mental states such as joint goals.PostprintPeer reviewe

Attending and knowing together : a new look at joint attention and common knowledge and their role in coordination

Joint attention—the ability to coordinate attention to an object or event—is a key feature of human social cognition. Without joint attention, we would not be the cooperating species we are now. Most developmental studies focus on when joint attention emerges, rather than what joint attention actually is, and what consequences it has for different types of interactions. To address this gap, Part I of the thesis provides a new look at joint attention, presenting a systematic framework of four attention levels (from monitoring, to common, mutual, and shared attention) with corresponding distinctions for the knowledge states associated with each level. Cognitive, behavioral, and phenomenological aspects of the different levels are discussed, as well as the functions and consequences the levels have in terms of what kinds of obligations they can support. Part II of the thesis follows on from this in investigating the role of joint attention in facilitating coordination. In two studies, 5- to 7-year-old children played a Stag Hunt coordination game in which they needed to decide whether to cooperate or play individually. During the decision-making phase, the children’s partner either shared attention with them—she made ostensive, communicative eye contact—or looked non-communicatively at them. In Study 1, results showed that communicative looks produced an expectation of cooperation in children. In Study 2, children normatively protested when their partner did not cooperate, thus showing an understanding of the communicative look as a commitment to cooperate. This is the first experimental evidence, in adults or children, that in the right context, communicative, but not non-communicative, looks can signal a commitment. Thus the thesis highlights the special importance of the shared attention level in supporting cooperatio

Robots, Cyborgs, and Humans. A Model of Consumer Behavior in Services: A Study in the Healthcare Services Sector

La present tesi es basa en una investigació que proposa un ús futurista de l'robot i el cyborg com cirurgians oculars. El model desenvolupat investiga la intenció de l'consumidor per elegir cada cirurgià (és a dir: cirurgià robot, cirurgià cyborg o cirurgià humà). Les dades es van analitzar utilitzant la tècnica PLS-SEM. Els resultats de la investigació mostren que l'expectativa d'esforç, l'expectativa de rendiment, el risc percebut i la influència social van mostrar un impacte significatiu en la intenció d'utilitzar els serveis de l'robot cirurgià. Els resultats de el model per al cyborg cirurgià van confirmar l'impacte significatiu de l'expectativa d'esforç, l'excitació, l'expectativa de rendiment i la influència social en la intenció d'utilitzar els seus serveis. L'expectativa d'esforç i la influència social van confirmar un impacte significatiu en la intenció d'utilitzar els serveis de l'cirurgià humà. Els resultats mostren que en els tres models les variables influència social i expectativa d'esforç afecten significativament a la intenció d'utilitzar aquests serveis de cirurgia i que amb diferent intensitat entre els models per expectativa de esforç-. L'impacte de la influència social dóna una idea general sobre la naturalesa de el sector de la salut a Jordània, on una part de la societat presta més atenció a les recomanacions dels altres a l'elegir els seus cirurgians. A més, l'impacte de l'expectativa d'esforç contribueix a les expectatives per la simplicitat de l'servei dels pacients, en termes d'ús i interacció amb els cirurgians proposats. L'anàlisi multigrup va confirmar que les variables dels models estan afectant de la mateixa manera a l'comparar la intenció d'usar cyborgs i humans, i a l'comparar cyborgs i robots. No obstant això, sí que hi ha diferències significatives a l'comparar l'elecció entre robots i humans en l'impacte de l'expectativa d'esforç per utilitzar els serveis de cirurgia. D'altra banda, els participants van mostrar la seva preferència pel cirurgià humà sobre els cirurgians cyborg i robot, respectivament. Com a resultat, l'acceptació de les tecnologies de robot i cyborg per part de la societat podria donar una idea sobre la lluita esperada en el futur entre el desenvolupament de robots i la millora de les capacitats humanes.La presente tesis se basa en una investigación que propone un uso futurista del robot y el cyborg como cirujanos oculares. El modelo desarrollado investiga la intención del consumidor para elegir a cada cirujano (es decir: cirujano robot, cirujano cyborg o cirujano humano). Los datos se analizaron utilizando la técnica PLS-SEM. Los resultados de la investigación muestran que la expectativa de esfuerzo, la expectativa de rendimiento, el riesgo percibido y la influencia social mostraron un impacto significativo en la intención de utilizar los servicios del robot cirujano. Los resultados del modelo para el cyborg cirujano confirmaron el impacto significativo de la expectativa de esfuerzo, la excitación, la expectativa de rendimiento y la influencia social en la intención de usar sus servicios. La expectativa de esfuerzo y la influencia social confirmaron un impacto significativo en la intención de utilizar los servicios del cirujano humano. Los resultados muestran que en los tres modelos las variables influencia social y expectativa de esfuerzo afectan significativamente a la intención de usar esos servicios de cirugía –aunque con distinta intensidad entre los modelos para expectativa de esfuerzo-. El impacto de la influencia social da una idea general sobre la naturaleza del sector de la salud en Jordania, donde una parte de la sociedad presta más atención a las recomendaciones de los demás al elegir a sus cirujanos. Además, el impacto de la expectativa de esfuerzo contribuye a las expectativas por la simplicidad del servicio de los pacientes, en términos de uso e interacción con los cirujanos propuestos. El análisis multigrupo confirmó que las variables de los modelos están afectando de la misma manera al comparar la intención de usar cyborgs y humanos, y al comparar cyborgs y robots. Sin embargo, sí que existen diferencias significativas al comparar la elección entre robots y humanos en el impacto de la expectativa de esfuerzo para utilizar los servicios de cirugía. Por otro lado, los participantes mostraron su preferencia por el cirujano humano sobre los cirujanos cyborg y robot, respectivamente. Como resultado, la aceptación de las tecnologías de robot y cyborg por parte de la sociedad podría dar una idea sobre la lucha esperada en el futuro entre el desarrollo de robots y la mejora de las capacidades humanThe research proposes a futuristic use of robot and cyborg as surgeons in an eye surgery. Thereafter, the developed model has been applied to investigate the intention to use each surgeon (i.e. robot surgeon, cyborg surgeon, and human surgeon). The data was analyzed using the PLS-SEM technique. According to the research results, effort expectancy, performance expectancy, perceived risk, and social influence showed a significant impact on intention to use robot services. However, the results of the cyborg service model confirmed the significant impact of effort expectancy, arousal, performance expectancy, and social influence on the intention to use cyborg services. Furthermore, effort expectancy and social influence confirmed their significant impact on the intention to use human services. The results of the three models showed that the variables social influence and effort expectancy significantly affected the intention to use these surgical services, with a different intensity between the models for effort expectancy. The social influence impact gives a general idea about the nature of the healthcare sector in Jordan, where a part of society gives more attention to the recommendation from others while choosing their surgeons. Also, the effort expectancy impact contributes to patients' expectations of simplicity, in terms of use and interaction with the proposed surgeons. The multigroup analysis confirmed that the models' variables are affecting the intention to use cyborg and human service, and cyborg and robots in the same way. However, the differences were confirmed between robot and human cyborgs in terms of the impact of effort expectancy on the intention to use these services. On the other side, the participants showed their preference of the human surgeon over the cyborg and robot surgeons, respectively. As a result, the acceptance of the robot and cyborg technologies by a part of the society could give an idea about the expected struggle in the future among developing robots and enhancing human capabilities

Design for Child-Robot Play The implications of Design Research within the field of Human-Robot Interaction studies for Children

This thesis investigates the intersections of three disciplines, that are Design Research, Human-Robot Interaction studies, and Child Studies. In particular, this doctoral research is focused on two research questions, namely, what is (or might be) the role of design research in HRI? And, how to design acceptable and desirable child-robot play applications? The first chapter introduces an overview of the mutual interest between robotics and design that is at the basis of the research. On the one hand, the interest of design toward robotics is documented through some exemplary projects from artists and designers that speculate on the human-robot coexistence condition. Vice versa, the robotics interest toward design is documented by referring to some tracks of robotic conferences, scienti c workshops and robotics journals which focused on the design-robotics relationship. Finally, a brief description of the background conditions that characterized this doctoral research are introduced, such as the fact of being a research founded by a company. The second chapter provides an overview of the state of the art of the intersections between three multidisciplinary disciplines. First, a de nition of Design Research is provided, together with its main trends and open issues. Then, the review focuses on the contribution of Design Research to the HRI eld, which can be summed up in actions focused on three aspects: artefacts, stakeholders, and contexts. This is followed by a focus on the role of Design Research within the context of children studies, in which it is possible to identify two main design-child relationships: design as a method for developing children’s learning experiences; and children as part of the design process for developing novel interactive systems. The third chapter introduces the Research through Design (RtD) approach and its relevance in conducting design research in HRI. The proposed methodology, based on this approach, is particularly characterized by the presence of design explorations as study methods. These, in turn, are developed through a common project’s methodology, also reported in this chapter. The fourth chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the scenario in which the child-robot interaction takes place. This was aimed at understanding what is edutainment robotics for children, its common features, how it relates to existing children play types, and where the interaction takes place. The chapter provides also a focus on the relationship between children and technology on a more general level, through which two themes and relative design opportunities were identi ed: physically active play and objects-to-think-with. These were respectively addressed in the two design explorations presented in this thesis: Phygital Play and Shybo. The Phygital Play project consists of an exploration of natural interaction modalities with robots, through mixed-reality, for fostering children’s active behaviours. To this end, a game platform was developed for allowing children to play with or against a robot, through body movement. Shybo, instead, is a low-anthropomorphic robot for playful learning activities with children that can be carried out in educational contexts. The robot, which reacts to properties of the physical environment, is designed to support different kinds of experiences. Then, the chapter eight is dedicated to the research outcomes, that were de ned through a process of reflection. The contribution of the research was analysed and documented by focusing on three main levels, namely: artefact, knowledge and theory. The artefact level corresponds to the situated implementations developed through the projects. The knowledge level consists of a set of actionable principles, emerged from the results and lessons learned from the projects. At the theory level, a theoretical framework was proposed with the aim of informing the future design of child- robot play applications. Thelastchapterprovidesa naloverviewofthe doctoral research, a series of limitations regarding the research, its process and its outcomes, and some indications for future research

Rights for Robots

Bringing a unique perspective to the burgeoning ethical and legal issues surrounding the presence of artificial intelligence in our daily lives, the book uses theory and practice on animal rights and the rights of nature to assess the status of robots.Through extensive philosophical and legal analyses, the book explores how rights can be applied to nonhuman entities. This task is completed by developing a framework useful for determining the kinds of personhood for which a nonhuman entity might be eligible, and a critical environmental ethic that extends moral and legal consideration to nonhumans. The framework and ethic are then applied to two hypothetical situations involving real-world technology—animal-like robot companions and humanoid sex robots. Additionally, the book approaches the subject from multiple perspectives, providing a comparative study of legal cases on animal rights and the rights of nature from around the world and insights from structured interviews with leading experts in the field of robotics. Ending with a call to rethink the concept of rights in the Anthropocene, suggestions for further research are made.An essential read for scholars and students interested in robot, animal and environmental law, as well as those interested in technology more generally, the book is a ground-breaking study of an increasingly relevant topic, as robots become ubiquitous in modern society

Rights for Robots

"Bringing a unique perspective to the burgeoning ethical and legal issues surrounding the presence of artificial intelligence in our daily lives, the book uses theory and practice on animal rights and the rights of nature to assess the status of robots. Through extensive philosophical and legal analyses, the book explores how rights can be applied to nonhuman entities. This task is completed by developing a framework useful for determining the kinds of personhood for which a nonhuman entity might be eligible, and a critical environmental ethic that extends moral and legal consideration to nonhumans. The framework and ethic are then applied to two hypothetical situations involving real-world technology—animal-like robot companions and humanoid sex robots. Additionally, the book approaches the subject from multiple perspectives, providing a comparative study of legal cases on animal rights and the rights of nature from around the world and insights from structured interviews with leading experts in the field of robotics. Ending with a call to rethink the concept of rights in the Anthropocene, suggestions for further research are made. An essential read for scholars and students interested in robot, animal and environmental law, as well as those interested in technology more generally, the book is a ground-breaking study of an increasingly relevant topic, as robots become ubiquitous in modern society.