Anthropomorphism: Opportunities and Challenges in Human–Robot Interaction

Złotowski, Jakub; Proudfoot, Diane; Yogeeswaran, Kumar; Bartneck, Christoph

doi:10.1007/s12369-014-0267-6

Cited by 381 publications

(185 citation statements)

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“…Anthropomorphism refers to the tendency to attribute human characteristics, behaviors, and feelings to non-human entities (Duffy, 2003). In the context of robotics, researchers have examined the relationship between the degree of physical anthropomorphism of a robot and people's reactions toward it (Złotowski, Proudfoot, Yogeeswaran, & Bartneck, 2015). The relationship between the human-likeness of a non-human object and affinity toward it was first proposed by Mori (1970) in what is called the uncanny valley.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Interactive Effects of Robot Anthropomorphism and Robot Ability on Perceived Threat and Support for Robotics Research

Yogeeswaran

Złotowski

Livingstone

et al. 2016

Journal of Human-Robot Interaction

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111

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*indicates that both authors contributed equallyThe present research examines how a robot's physical anthropomorphism interacts with perceived ability of robots to impact the level of realistic and identity threat that people perceive from robots and how it affects their support for robotics research. Experimental data revealed that participants perceived robots to be significantly more threatening to humans after watching a video of an android that could allegedly outperform humans on various physical and mental tasks relative to a humanoid robot that could do the same. However, when participants were not provided with information about a new generation of robots' ability relative to humans, then no significant differences were found in perceived threat following exposure to either the android or humanoid robots. Similarly, participants also expressed less support for robotics research after seeing an android relative to a humanoid robot outperform humans. However, when provided with no information about robots' ability relative to humans, then participants showed marginally decreased support for robotics research following exposure to the humanoid relative to the android robot. Taken together, these findings suggest that very humanlike robots can not only be perceived as a realistic threat to human jobs, safety, and resources, but can also be seen as a threat to human identity and uniqueness, especially if such robots also outperform humans. We also demonstrate the potential downside of such robots to the public's willingness to support and fund robotics research.Keywords: human-robot interaction, anthropomorphism, ability, threat, uncanny valley Yogeeswaran et al., Robot Anthropomorphism and Performance 30 IntroductionFor years now, robots have been quite visible in popular culture. This is evident going back decades to classic films, such as Star Wars (1977), Star Trek (1987), Blade Runner (1982), and Terminator (1984, as well as more recent films, including Ex-Machina (2015), Robot & Frank (2012), and Surrogates (2008). However, recent technological advancements have turned what was once an imaginative creation of Hollywood into an impending reality. While robots already play an active role in patient care, factories, and military operations, prominent roboticists (Kiesler & Hinds, 2004) argue that robots will soon become fully integrated into human society, in what is dubbed the 'robot revolution' (Ripley, 2014;Stewart, 2011). Robots are expected to serve with an increasing presence in our homes, healthcare, elderly care, rescue operations, and combat. Currently, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent worldwide on robotics research to design these technologies. However, despite scientific advances to create the technology, questions remain about the acceptance of robots by the general public. While some scientists develop technology to make these advancements possible, others try to understand what factors impact how people think, feel, and behave toward such technology. The present research examines ...

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confidence: 99%

The Interactive Effects of Robot Anthropomorphism and Robot Ability on Perceived Threat and Support for Robotics Research

Yogeeswaran

Złotowski

Livingstone

et al. 2016

Journal of Human-Robot Interaction

Self Cite

111

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“…In particular, people who seem to have an atypical human mind have been found to elicit eeriness (Gray & Wegner, 2012). It has therefore been recommended to also explore eeriness in response to humans (Zlotowski, Proudfoot, et al, 2015). To address this concern, we repeated our study including human-human interactions (HHI).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent data suggest, however, that attributing human-like minds to robots may come at the price of feeling eerie towards them (Gray & Wegner, 2012). A similar affective cost may accompany encounters with conspecifics that lack a normal human mind (Zlotowski, Proudfoot et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Now you feel it, now you don’t

Quadflieg¹,

Ul-Haq

Mavridis

2016

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Robots seemingly in possession of an experiential mind, as well as humans allegedly incapable thereof, have been reported to elicit feelings of eeriness in their perceivers. The current work re-examined this claim, asking participants to rate both robots and humans in various social situations regarding their mind capacities (e.g., emotional capability, intelligence), non-mind qualities (e.g., animacy, usefulness), and overall appeal (e.g., eeriness, likeability). It was found that feelings of eeriness towards both targets formed a distinct emotional response that was separable from simple dislike. Yet, unexpectedly, eeriness towards both targets intensified, the less they were seen as possessing a typical human mind. For robots, however, this association was less consistent. Moreover, eeriness towards robots, but not towards humans, was most strongly predicted by a lack of perceived usefulness. These results indicate that mind attributions affect people’s attitudes towards each other more strongly than their attitudes towards humanoid robots.

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“…Hence, social robots exhibit personality, traits and character.  Anthropomorphism: Anthropomorphism is a phenomenon that describes the tendency of humans to see human-like shapes in an environment [23]. It is a process of attributing human like qualities and personal characteristics to entities in an environment.…”

Section: Social Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

State Of The Art: A Study of Human-Robot Interaction in Healthcare

Olaronke¹,

Oluwaseun²,

Ikono³

2017

IJIEEB

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Abstract-In general, the applications of robots have shifted rapidly from industrial uses to social uses. This provides robots with the ability to naturally interact with human beings and socially fit into the human environment. The deployment of social robots in the healthcare system is becoming extensive as a result of the shortage of healthcare professionals, rising costs of healthcare and the exponential growth in the number of vulnerable populations such as the sick, the aged and children with developmental disabilities. Consequently, social robots are used in healthcare for providing health education and entertainment for patients in the hospital and for providing aids for the sick and aged. They are also used for dispensing drugs and providing rehabilitation as well as emotional and aging care. Hence, social robots improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare services. The interaction between social robots and human beings is known as human-robot interaction. Human-robot interaction in healthcare is faced with numerous challenges such as the fear of displacement of caregivers by robots, safety, usefulness, acceptability as well as appropriateness. These challenges ultimately lead to a low rate of acceptance of the robotic technology. Consequently, this paper extensively appraises humanrobot interaction in healthcare, their applications and challenges. Design, ethical and usability issues such as privacy, trust, safety, users' attitude, culture, robot morphology as well as emotions and deception arising from the interaction between humans and robots in healthcare are also reviewed in this paper.

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Anthropomorphism: Opportunities and Challenges in Human–Robot Interaction

Cited by 381 publications

References 119 publications

The Interactive Effects of Robot Anthropomorphism and Robot Ability on Perceived Threat and Support for Robotics Research

The Interactive Effects of Robot Anthropomorphism and Robot Ability on Perceived Threat and Support for Robotics Research

Now you feel it, now you don’t

State Of The Art: A Study of Human-Robot Interaction in Healthcare

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