Osobni prostor i njegove transformacije u tehnološkom kontekstu

Context and relevance of the research: The creation of autonomous computer agents and humanoid robots is becoming a priority subject of research in various fields of knowledge such as evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, neurobiology, engineering, social robotics, linguistics, philosophy, etc. The gap between technological, natural science and humanitarian-scientific discourse reveals the need for dialogue, scientific discussions, and the development of a common conceptual-categorical system in information technology and humanitarian knowledge. The expansion of the continuum of artificial realities actualizes anthropological problems, including the question of a new ontological status of human, of personal space, within which all aspects and projections of human existence undergo significant changes. Personal space as an ontological phenomenon of Self interacts with different environments (nature, society, culture, extended reality (XR)) has borders with them and in each partially functions. The research aims to develop methodological foundations for the study of personal space, formulate the author’s definition of personal space, and identify conceptual methodological constructs to analyze the transformation of personal space in the development of information technology and social robotics. Used methodology: the principle of integrity, the principle of duality of being, typology of relations I-Thou and I-It by Martin Buber and Semyon L. Frank, system analysis, convergent approach. Key findings: The development of information technologies and social robotics has opened a new stage in forming the technological context of human entry into symbiotic relations, where the boundaries between the natural and the artificial are blurred, which indicates the need to elaborate a convergent approach to studying interdisciplinary problems in technological and humanitarian knowledge. The author’s definition of personal space as a holistic phenomenon of Self is offered for use as a methodological tool to study its changes in the technological context.Kontekst i važnost istraživanja: Stvaranje autonomnih računalnih agenata i humanoidnih robota postaje prioritetna tema istraživanja u raznim poljima znanja. Jaz između tehnološkog i humanitarnog diskursa pokazuje potrebu za dijalogom i razvojem zajedničkog pojmovno-kategorijskog sustava u informacijskoj tehnologiji i humanitarnom znanju. Širenje kontinuuma umjetne stvarnosti aktualizira antropološke probleme, uključujući pitanje novog ontološkog statusa osobe, osobnog prostora, unutar kojeg svi aspekti i projekcije ljudskog postojanja prolaze kroz značajne promjene. Osobni prostor kao ontološki fenomen sebstva komunicira s različitim okruženjima (priroda, društvo, kultura, proširena stvarnost [extended reality – XR]), ima granice s njima i djelomično funkcionira u svakoj. Svrha studije: razviti metodološku osnovu za proučavanje osobnog prostora, formulirati autorovu definiciju osobnog prostora i identificirati konceptualne metodološke konstrukcije za analizu transformacije osobnog prostora u razvoju informacijske tehnologije i socijalne robotike. Upotrijebljena metodologija: načelo integriteta, načelo dualnosti bića, tipologija odnosa (M. Buber, S. Frank), sistemska analiza, konvergentni pristup. Glavni zaključci: Razvoj informacijske tehnologije i socijalne robotike otvorio je novu fazu u formiranju tehnološkog konteksta ulaska čovjeka u simbiotske odnose, gdje su granice između prirodnog i umjetnog nejasne, što ukazuje na potrebu za razvojem konvergentnog pristupa proučavanju interdisciplinarnih problema tehnološkog i humanitarnog znanja. Autorska definicija osobnog prostora kao integralnog fenomena sebstva predlaže se kao metodološki alat za proučavanje njegovih promjena u tehnološkom kontekstu

Do you want to make your robot warmer? Make it more reactive!

Endowing robots with the ability to respond appropriately to stimuli contributes to the perception of an illusion of "life" in robots, which is determinant for their acceptance as companions. This work aims to study how a series of bio-inspired reactive responses impact on the way in which participants perceive a social robot. In particular, the proposed system endows the robot with the ability to react to stimuli that are not only related to the current task but are also related to other external events. We conducted an experiment where the participants observed a video-recorded interaction with two robots: one was able to respond to both task-related and non-task-related events, while the other was only able to react to task-related events. To evaluate the experiment, we used the RoSAS questionnaire. The results yielded significant differences for two factors, showing that the addition of responses to non-task-related stimuli increased the robot¿s warmth and competence.This work was supported in part by the Robots Sociales para Estimulación Física, Cognitiva y Afectiva de Mayores (RoSEs) funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Spanish Government under Grant RTI2018-096338-B-I00; in part by the Robots sociales para mitigar la soledad y el aislamiento en mayores (SoRoLI) funded by Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spanish Government under Grant PID2021-123941OA-I00; and in part by the Multiannual Agreement with UC3M (“Fostering Young Doctors Research”) in the context of the V PRICIT (Research and Technological Innovation Regional Programme) by the Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid-Spain) under Grant SMM4HRI-CM-UC3M

Mechanical Empathy Seems Too Risky. Will Policymakers Transcend Inertia and Choose for Robot Care? The World Needs It

An ageing population, increasing longevity and below-replacement fertility increase the care burden worldwide. This comes with age-related diseases such as Alzheimer disease and other dementias, cardiovascular disorders, cancer and—hardly noticed—pandemic loneliness. The burden, both emotionally and economically, starts to become astronomical and cannot be carried by those few who need to combine care with work and family. Social solidarity programmes are part of the answer, but they do not relieve the human helper. Yet, many hands are needed where but a few are available. Capacity issues can be solved by the introduction of care robots. Research shows that state-of-the-art technology is such that care robots can become nonthreatening social entities and be accepted and appreciated by the lonesome. Massive employment of such devices is impeded, however, sufficient governmental support of R&D is lacking—financially and regulatorily. This is where policymakers should step in and get over their moral prejudices and those of their voters and stop being afraid of losing political backing. They will regain it in the long run

Personality in Healthcare Human Robot Interaction (H-HRI): A Literature Review and Brief Critique

Robots are becoming an important way to deliver health care, and personality is vital to understanding their effectiveness. Despite this, there is a lack of a systematic overarching understanding of personality in health care human robot interaction (H-HRI). To address this, the authors conducted a review that identified 18 studies on personality in H-HRI. This paper presents the results of that systematic literature review. Insights are derived from this review regarding the methodologies, outcomes, and samples utilized. The authors of this review discuss findings across this literature while identifying several gaps worthy of attention. Overall, this paper is an important starting point in understanding personality in H-HRI.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156252/1/Esterwood and Robert 2020.pdfDescription of Esterwood and Robert 2020.pdf : ArticleSEL

Interface natural emotiva niño-robot

El objetivo de esta investigación es la de desarrollar conocimientos en el área de la interacción natural en ambientes dinámicos, con el objetivo de alcanzar un nivel de precisión similar al que obtenemos con el uso de periféricos tradicionales a través de una HRI (Human Robot Interface) . La interacción natural es una tendencia que permite vincularnos a los dispositivos tecnológicos de una manera más transparente y empática que con el enfoque tradicional. Estamos convencidos que rápidamente este tipo de interacción va a avanzar por sobre el tradicional, como se evidencia en nuevos dispositivos como smarttvs, teléfonos celulares y consola de video juegos. Para lograr este objetivo nos enfocamos en la utilización del dispositivo Kinect combinado con la librería de reconocimiento del Habla y Síntesis de Voces de Microsoft. En la siguiente investigación, dejamos plasmada nuestra experiencia tanto en laboratorio como en trabajos de campo donde detallamos los inconvenientes que tuvimos y como pudimos sortearlos, junto con la perspectiva de mejora a futuro.Eje: Ingeniería de SoftwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Interface natural emotiva niño-robot

El objetivo de esta investigación es la de desarrollar conocimientos en el área de la interacción natural en ambientes dinámicos, con el objetivo de alcanzar un nivel de precisión similar al que obtenemos con el uso de periféricos tradicionales a través de una HRI (Human Robot Interface) . La interacción natural es una tendencia que permite vincularnos a los dispositivos tecnológicos de una manera más transparente y empática que con el enfoque tradicional. Estamos convencidos que rápidamente este tipo de interacción va a avanzar por sobre el tradicional, como se evidencia en nuevos dispositivos como smarttvs, teléfonos celulares y consola de video juegos. Para lograr este objetivo nos enfocamos en la utilización del dispositivo Kinect combinado con la librería de reconocimiento del Habla y Síntesis de Voces de Microsoft. En la siguiente investigación, dejamos plasmada nuestra experiencia tanto en laboratorio como en trabajos de campo donde detallamos los inconvenientes que tuvimos y como pudimos sortearlos, junto con la perspectiva de mejora a futuro.Eje: Ingeniería de SoftwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

iRobot : conceptualising SERVBOT for humanoid social robots

Services are intangible in nature and, as a result, it is often difficult to measure the quality of the service. The service is usually delivered by a human to a human customer and the service literature shows SERVQUAL can be used to measure the quality of the service. However, the use of social robots during the pandemic is speeding up the process of employing social roots in frontline service settings. An extensive review of the literature shows there is a lack of an empirical model to assess the perceived service quality provided by a social robot. Furthermore, the social robot literature highlights key differences between human service and social robots. For example, scholars have highlighted the importance of entertainment and engagement in the adoption of social robots in the service industry. However, it is unclear whether the SERVQUAL dimensions are appropriate to measure social robots’ service quality. This master’s project will conceptualise the SERVBOT model to assess a social robot’s service quality. It identifies reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and entertainment as the five dimensions of SERVBOT. Further, the research will investigate how these five factors influence emotional and social engagement and intention to use the social robot in a concierge service setting. To conduct the research, a 2 x 1 (CONTROL vs SERVBOT) x (Concierge) between-subject experiment was undertaken and a total of 232 responses were collected for both stages. The results indicate that entertainment has a positive influence on emotional engagement when service is delivered by a human concierge. Further, assurance had a positive influence on social engagement when a human concierge provided the service. When a social robot concierge delivered the service, empathy and entertainment both influenced emotional engagement, and assurance and entertainment impacted social engagement favourably. For both CONTROL (human concierge) and SERVBOT (social robot concierge), emotional and social engagement had a significant influence on intentions to use. This study is the first to propose the SERVBOT model to measure social robots’ service quality. The model provides a theoretical underpinning on the key service quality dimensions of a social robot and gives scholars and managers a method to track the service quality of a social robot. The study also extends the literature by exploring the key factors that influence the use of social robots (i.e., emotional and social engagement)

A Review of Personality in Human Robot Interactions

Personality has been identified as a vital factor in understanding the quality of human robot interactions. Despite this the research in this area remains fragmented and lacks a coherent framework. This makes it difficult to understand what we know and identify what we do not. As a result our knowledge of personality in human robot interactions has not kept pace with the deployment of robots in organizations or in our broader society. To address this shortcoming, this paper reviews 83 articles and 84 separate studies to assess the current state of human robot personality research. This review: (1) highlights major thematic research areas, (2) identifies gaps in the literature, (3) derives and presents major conclusions from the literature and (4) offers guidance for future research.Comment: 70 pages, 2 figure