In January 2023, the proceedings of Robophilosophy 2022 were published, under the title „Social Robots in Social Institutions“. „This book presents the Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2022, the 5th event in the biennial Robophilosophy conference series, held in Helsinki, Finland, from 16 to 19 August 2022. The theme of this edition of the conference was Social Robots in Social Institutions, and it featured international multidisciplinary research from the humanities, social sciences, Human-Robot Interaction, and social robotics. The 63 papers, 41 workshop papers and 5 posters included in this book are divided into 4 sections: plenaries, sessions, workshops and posters, with the 41 papers in the ‚Sessions‘ section grouped into 13 subdivisions including elderly care, healthcare, law, education and art, as well as ethics and religion. These papers explore the anticipated conceptual and practical changes which will come about in the course of introducing social robotics into public and private institutions, such as public services, legal systems, social and healthcare services, or educational institutions.“ (Website IOS Press) The proceedings contain the paper „Robots in Policing“ by Oliver Bendel and the poster „Tamagotchi on our couch: Are social robots perceived as pets?“ by Katharina Kühne, Melinda A. Jeglinski-Mende, and Oliver Bendel. More information via www.iospress.com/catalog/books/social-robots-in-social-institutions.
On the morning of December 15, 2022, the session „Ethics, Gender & Trust in Social Robotics“ was held at ICSR 2022. Chairs were Giulia Perugia and Oliver Bendel. Dimitri Lacroix started the session with „I designed it, so I trust it: the influence of customization on psychological ownership and trust toward robots“. He showed that in line with the predictions of the authors, customization significantly increases psychological ownership and trust toward the robot. JeeLoo Liu gave a talk on the topic of „Human-in-the-Loop Ethical AI for Care Robots and Confucian Virtue Ethics“. She explicated how Confucian virtue ethics can respond to human expectations of what kind of virtuous care robots we want in our society. Jean Choi spoke about „Effects of Realistic Appearance and Consumer Gender on Pet Robot Adoption“. By adopting theories from marketing and consumer research, the authors hypothesized that pet robots with lifelike appearance would be preferred to pet robots with machinelike appearances. They also predicted that the positive effect of lifelike appearance would be reduced for female consumers. According to the researchers, the experimental results confirmed the formulated hypotheses. The last talk was „Ambivalent Stereotypes Towards Gendered Robots: The (Im)mutability of Bias Towards Female and Neutral Robots“ by Stefano Guidi. According to the team, the results disclosed that female robots activate paternalistic stereotypes, while male robots do not. Moreover, they reveal that the ambivalence of these stereotypes is stronger in men than in women. The analyses also showed that neutral robots activate paternalistic stereotypes in men and envious stereotypes in women. More information on the conference via www.icsr2022.it.
Fig.: JeeLoo Liu during her presentation (Photo: Marc Heimann)
According to Mission Local, a policy proposal heading for Board of Supervisors approval next week would explicitly authorize San Francisco police to kill suspects using robots. It is the following wording that is causing discussion: “Robots will only be used as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers are imminent and outweigh any other force option available to SFPD.“ According to the local newspaper, this could mark a legal crossing of the Rubicon: „Robot use-of-force has never before been approved, nor has it ever been prohibited, in San Francisco.“ (Mission Local, 22 November 2022) Of what kind of arsenal are we talking, anyway? „The SFPD has 17 robots in its arsenal, 12 of which it describes as fully functional. According to police spokesperson Officer Robert Rueca, they have never been used to attack anyone. The robots are remote-controlled, and are typically used to investigate and defuse potential bombs or to surveil areas too awkward or dangerous for officers to access.“ (Mission Local, 22 November 2022) In August 2022, Oliver Bendel gave a talk about police robots at the Robophilosophy 2022 conference. The paper will be published in a few weeks.
Two of the most important conferences for social robotics are Robophilosophy and ICSR. After Robophilosophy, a biennial, was last held in Helsinki in August 2022, ICSR is now coming up in Florence (13 – 16 December 2022). „The 14th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2022) brings together researchers and practitioners working on the interaction between humans and intelligent robots and on the integration of social robots into our society. … The theme of this year’s conference is Social Robots for Assisted Living and Healthcare, emphasising on the increasing importance of social robotics in human daily living and society.“ (Website ICSR) The committee sent out notifications by October 15, 2022. The paper „The CARE-MOMO Project“ by Oliver Bendel and Marc Heimann was accepted. This is a project that combines machine ethics and social robotics. The invention of the morality menu was transferred to a care robot for the first time. The care recipient can use sliders on the display to determine how he or she wants to be treated. This allows them to transfer their moral and social beliefs and ideas to the machine. The morality module (MOMO) is intended for the Lio assistance robot from F&P Robotics. The result will be presented at the end of October 2022 at the company headquarters in Glattbrugg near Zurich. More information on the conference via www.icsr2022.it.
Fig.: The conference will take place at the Chamber of Commerce (far left)
On the first day of Robophilosophy 2022, Oliver Bendel presented his paper „Robots in Policing“ … From the abstract: „This article is devoted to the question of how robots are used in policing and what opportunities and risks arise in social terms. It begins by briefly explaining the characteristics of modern police work. It puts service robots and social robots in relation to each other and outlines relevant disciplines. The article also lists types of robots that are and could be relevant in the present context. It then gives examples from different countries of the use of robots in police work and security services. From these, it derives the central tasks of robots in this area and their most important technical features. A discussion from social, ethical, and technical perspectives seeks to provide clarity on how robots are changing the police as a social institution and with social actions and relationships, and what challenges need to be addressed.“ (Abstract) Robots in policing are a topic that has yet to receive much attention. However, it is likely to become considerably more topical in the next few years. More information about the conference on cas.au.dk/en/robophilosophy/conferences/rpc2022.
Fig.: A poster at the entrance of the University of Helsinki
At the Robophilosophy conference 2018 in Vienna, Hiroshi Ishiguro gave a keynote, as did Guy Standing, Catelijne Muller, Oliver Bendel, and others. His personal presence, combined with provocative statements, inspired many attendees. In Helsinki in 2022, he joined online and gave a talk („Realization of the Avatar Symbiotic Society: The Concept and Technologies“) within the workshop „ELSI of the Avatar Symbiotic Society“. The workshop was announced on the website as follows: „We are currently promoting a project to develop (physical or virtual) avatar technology and to create a society where everyone can engage in various activities as they wish, beyond physical constraints, by using avatars. We are particularly concerned with enriching our communications, interactions, and relationships through avatars. However, this aim cannot be achieved by technology alone. We have to consider the ELSI (ethical, legal and social issues) concerning avatars as well. In this workshop, the speakers will introduce some of our technologies and then raise ethical and legal questions concerning avatars. Then we would like to discuss these issues with all the participants.“ (Website Robophilosophy) Further information via cas.au.dk/robophilosophy/conferences/rpc2022/program.
Fig.: Hiroshi Ishiguro and his ideas of the year 2050
Robophilosophy 2022 at the University of Helsinki is the fifth event in the biennial Robophilosophy Conference Series. It „will explore the societal significance of social robots for the future of social institutions with its usual broad scope, embracing both theoretical and practical angles“ (CfP Robophilosophy). It „is an invitation to philosophers and other SSH researchers, as well as researchers in social robotics and HRI, to investigate from interdisciplinarily informed perspectives whether and how social robotics as an interdisciplinary endeavour can contribute to the ability of our institutions to perform their functions in society“ (CfP Robophilosophy). Social institutions include retirement and nursing homes, strip clubs and brothels, monasteries and seminaries, and police departments. Oliver Bendel (School of Business FHNW) will have the opportunity to present his paper entitled „Robots in Policing“ in session 1, „Robots in Law and Policing“. Cindy Friedman („Granting Negative Rights to Humanoid Robots“) and Jakob Stenseke („The Use and Abuse of Normative Ethics for Moral Machines“) will speak after him. In addition, a poster by Katharina Kühne and Melinda Mende (University of Potsdam) as well als Oliver Bendel entitled „Tamagotchi on our couch: Are social robots perceived as pets?“ was accepted. The full program is now available online.
On June 30, 2022, the paper „Should Social Robots in Retail Manipulate Customers?“ by Oliver Bendel and Liliana Margarida Dos Santos Alves was published on arxiv.org. It was presented at the AAAI 2022 Spring Symposium „How Fair is Fair? Achieving Wellbeing AI“ at Stanford University and came in third place in the Best Presentation Awards. From the abstract: „Against the backdrop of structural changes in the retail trade, social robots have found their way into retail stores and shopping malls in order to attract, welcome, and greet customers; to inform them, advise them, and persuade them to make a purchase. Salespeople often have a broad knowledge of their product and rely on offering competent and honest advice, whether it be on shoes, clothing, or kitchen appliances. However, some frequently use sales tricks to secure purchases. The question arises of how consulting and sales robots should “behave”. Should they behave like human advisors and salespeople, i.e., occasionally manipulate customers? Or should they be more honest and reliable than us? This article tries to answer these questions. After explaining the basics, it evaluates a study in this context and gives recommendations for companies that want to use consulting and sales robots. Ultimately, fair, honest, and trustworthy robots in retail are a win-win situation for all concerned.“ The paper will additionally be published in the proceedings volume of the symposium by the end of summer. It can be downloaded via arxiv.org/abs/2206.14571.
Fig.: Social robots with sales tricks (Photo: Daimler and Benz Foundation)
Robophilosophy 2022 is the fifth event in the biennial Robophilosophy Conference Series. It „will explore the societal significance of social robots for the future of social institutions with its usual broad scope, embracing both theoretical and practical angles“ (CfP Robophilosophy). It „is an invitation to philosophers and other SSH researchers, as well as researchers in social robotics and HRI, to investigate from interdisciplinarily informed perspectives whether and how social robotics as an interdisciplinary endeavour can contribute to the ability of our institutions to perform their functions in society“ (CfP Robophilosophy). Social institutions include retirement and nursing homes, strip clubs and brothels, monasteries and seminaries, and police departments. As announced by the organizers on April 15, Oliver Bendel (School of Business FHNW) will have the opportunity to present his paper entitled „Robots in Policing“ at the conference. It is about how service robots and social robots are changing policing as „social work“. In addition, a poster by Katharina Kühne and Melinda Mende (University of Potsdam) as well als Oliver Bendel entitled „Tamagotchi on our couch: Are social robots perceived as pets?“ was accepted.
On 25 February 2022, the article „Passive, Active, and Proactive Systems and Machines for the Protection and Preservation of Animals and Animal Species“ by Oliver Bendel was published in Frontiers in Animal Science. From the abstract: „Digitalization and automation are expanding into many areas, resulting in more widespread use of partially and fully autonomous machines and robots. At the same time, environmental and other crises and disasters are on the rise, the world population is growing, and animals are losing their habitat. Increasingly, machines and robots such as agricultural vehicles, autonomous cars, robotic lawnmowers, or social robots are encountering animals of all kinds. In the process, the latter are injured or killed. Some machines can be designed so that this does not happen. Relevant disciplines and research areas briefly introduced here are machine ethics, social robotics, animal-machine interaction, and animal-computer interaction. In addition, animal welfare is important. Passive and active machines—as they are called in this review—are already appearing and help to observe and protect animals. Proactive machines may play a role in the future. They could use the possibilities of full automation and autonomy to save animals from suffering in agriculture or in the wild. During crises and disasters and in extensive nature reserves, they could observe, care for, and protect animals. The review provides initial considerations on active, passive, and proactive machines and how they can be used in an animal preservation context while bearing in mind recent technical and global developments.“ The article is part of the research topic „Animal-Computer Interaction and Beyond: The Benefits of Animal-Centered Research and Design“ and can be accessed at www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2022.834634/full.
How can you make social robots out of simple, soft shapes and objects, i.e. robots for interacting with people and animals? Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel, Vietnamese student Nhi Hoang Yen Tran and her fellow student Thang Vu Hoang investigated this question in the project „Simple, Soft Social Robots“ at the FHNW School of Business. They used Hugvie from Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories as the basis for their considerations – these labs are most famous for the Geminoid and for Erica. But hugging robots like Telenoid also come from them. The latest product from this series is Hugvie. A pocket for a smartphone is attached to its head. People who are far away from each other can talk to each other and have the impression of hugging and feeling each other. But what else can be done with Hugvie and similar forms? The two students have come up with eleven suggestions. A video explains five of them. Two of them are variants of Hugvie. With their result, the two students have received the highest performance in the bachelor thesis among all graduates of BSc International Management in 2021.
Simple, soft shapes are everywhere. In our home environment you can find pillows, blankets, balls, bottles, clothes, etc. Robots are often expensive and complex. But couldn’t they be thought of in a completely different way? How could social robots emerge from simple, soft shapes? As part of their final thesis at the School of Business FHNW, Nhi Tran Hoang Yen and Thang Hoang Vu from Ho Chi Minh City have answered this question posed by their supervisor Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel. They have submitted eleven proposals for novel robots. All are shown on informationsethik.net. The eleventh proposal is Rish (go here to the previous). Rish moves like a fish and looks similar to a fish. Thus, it fits well into the community of aquarium animals. Its main purpose is to clean the aquarium from waste and excrement. The authors write in their documentation: „It is recommended to equip a thin, stretchable, and robust ultimate sensor to either detecting the waste or reconfiguring the moving body shapes and tasks of Rish.“ Two books by Oliver Bendel on social robots – „300 Keywords Soziale Robotik“ and „Soziale Roboter“ – will be published in October 2021.
Fig.: Rish (image: Trần Hoàng Yến Nhi & Hoàng Vũ Thắng, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Việt Nam)
Simple, soft shapes are everywhere. In our home environment you can find pillows, blankets, balls, bottles, clothes, etc. Robots are often expensive and complex. But couldn’t they be thought of in a completely different way? How could social robots emerge from simple, soft shapes? As part of their final thesis at the School of Business FHNW, Nhi Tran Hoang Yen and Thang Hoang Vu from Ho Chi Minh City have answered this question posed by their supervisor Prof. Oliver Bendel. They have submitted eleven proposals for novel robots. All are shown on informationsethik.net. The tenth proposal is Sleeping Hugvie (go here to the previous). The normal Hugvie is used to communicate with distant people, giving the feeling of sensing them. You talk to them and hug the robot. In the process, you apparently feel the other person’s heartbeat via the integrated element. The Sleeping Hugvie has a different function. It is supposed to make it easier for babies to fall asleep. Its shape can be adjusted. The integrated element can also simulate the heartbeat – of the mother, for example. Parents can talk to the child or play soothing music (or white noise) via a speaker. A camera for observing the child is optional. Two books by Oliver Bendel on social robots – „300 Keywords Soziale Robotik“ and „Soziale Roboter“ – will be published in October 2021.
Fig.: Sleeping Hugvie (image: Trần Hoàng Yến Nhi & Hoàng Vũ Thắng, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Việt Nam)
How do social robots emerge from simple, soft shapes? As part of their final thesis at the School of Business FHNW, Nhi Tran Hoang Yen and Thang Hoang Vu from Ho Chi Minh City have answered this question posed by their supervisor Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel. They have submitted eleven proposals for novel robots. All are shown on informationsethik.net. The eighth proposal is PBotvac (go here to the previous). In the near future, two or three service robots will be found in many households. Children should understand from the beginning what the possibilities and limitations are. It may help them to have a toy that provides basic functions, but is very simple and harmless – and cheap. One such toy is PBotvac. It is essentially made of cardboard. With it, children learn the purpose of a robot vacuum cleaner and to handle it in an appropriate manner. Two books by Oliver Bendel on social robots – „300 Keywords Soziale Robotik“ and „Soziale Roboter“ – will be published in October 2021.
Fig.: PBotvac (image: Trần Hoàng Yến Nhi & Hoàng Vũ Thắng, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Việt Nam)
How do social robots emerge from simple, soft shapes? As part of their final thesis at the School of Business FHNW, Nhi Tran Hoang Yen and Thang Hoang Vu from Ho Chi Minh City have answered this question posed by their supervisor Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel. They have submitted eleven proposals for novel robots. All are shown on informationsethik.net. The second proposal is a kind of clock (go here to the previous), which is placed around the neck of a bottle (at least a PET bottle would be a simple, soft form). Botbot, as it is called (from „bottle“ and „robot“), reminds the user to drink something. The robot can determine how much is left in the bottle and how much one has already drunk. Botbot can output text and has simple miming capabilities. On the one hand, one can be bothered by the pedagogical function. On the other hand, this function could prove to be really useful. The fact is that many people drink too little and get sick as a result. Two books by Oliver Bendel on social robots – „300 Keywords Soziale Robotik“ and „Soziale Roboter“ – will be published in October 2021.
Fig.: Botbot (image: Trần Hoàng Yến Nhi & Hoàng Vũ Thắng, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Việt Nam)
Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel, Liliana Margarida Dos Santos Alves wrote her master thesis „Manipulation by humanoid consulting and sales hardware robots from an ethical perspective“ at the School of Business FHNW. The background was that social robots and service robots like Pepper and Paul have been doing their job in retail for years. In principle, they can use the same sales techniques – including those of a manipulative nature – as salespeople. The young scientist submitted her comprehensive study in June 2021. According to the abstract, the main research question (RQ) is „to determine whether it is ethical to intentionally program humanoid consulting and sales hardware robots with manipulation techniques to influence the customer’s purchase decision in retail stores“ (Alves 2021). To answer this central question, five sub-questions (SQ) were defined and answered based on an extensive literature review and a survey conducted with potential customers of all ages: „SQ1: How can humanoid consulting and selling robots manipulate customers in the retail store? SQ2: Have ethical guidelines and policies, to which developers and users must adhere, been established already to prevent the manipulation of customers‘ purchasing decisions by humanoid robots in the retail sector? SQ3: Have ethical guidelines and policies already been established regarding who must perform the final inspection of the humanoid robot before it is put into operation? SQ4: How do potential retail customers react, think and feel when being confronted with a manipulative humanoid consultant and sales robot in a retail store? SQ5: Do potential customers accept a manipulative and humanoid consultant and sales robot in the retail store?“ (Alves 2021) To be able to answer the main research question (RQ), the sub-questions SQ1 – SQ5 were worked through step by step. In the end, the author comes to the conclusion „that it is neither ethical for software developers to program robots with manipulative content nor is it ethical for companies to actively use these kinds of robots in retail stores to systematically and extensively manipulate customers‘ negatively in order to obtain an advantage“. „Business is about reciprocity, and it is not acceptable to systematically deceive, exploit and manipulate customers to attain any kind of benefit.“ (Alves 2021) The book „Soziale Roboter“ – which will be published in September or October 2021 – contains an article on social robots in retail by Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel. In it, he also mentions the study by Liliana Margarida Dos Santos Alves.
Semi-autonomous machines, autonomous machines and robots inhabit closed, semi-closed and open environments, more structured environments like the household or more unstructured environments like cultural landscapes or the wilderness. There they encounter domestic animals, farm animals, working animals, and wild animals. These creatures could be disturbed, displaced, injured, or killed by the machines. Within the context of machine ethics and social robotics, the School of Business FHNW developed several design studies and prototypes for animal-friendly machines, which can be understood as moral and social machines in the spirit of these disciplines. In 2019-20, a team led by Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel developed a prototype robot lawnmower that can recognize hedgehogs, interrupt its work for them and thus protect them. Every year many of these animals die worldwide because of traditional service robots. HAPPY HEDGEHOG (HHH), as the invention is called, could be a solution to this problem. This article begins by providing an introduction to the background. Then it focuses on navigation (where the machine comes across certain objects that need to be recognized) and thermal and image recognition (with the help of machine learning) of the machine. It also presents obvious weaknesses and possible improvements. The results could be relevant for an industry that wants to market their products as animal-friendly machines. The paper „The HAPPY HEDGEHOG Project“ is available here.
The book „Culturally Sustainable Social Robotics“ (eds. Marco Nørskov, Johanna Seibt, and Oliver Santiago Quick) was published in December 2020 by IOS Press. From the publisher’s information: „Robophilosophy conferences have been the world’s largest venues for humanities research in and on social robotics. The book at hand presents the proceedings of Robophilosophy Conference 2020: Culturally Sustainable Social Robotics, the fourth event in the international, biennial Robophilosophy Conference Series, which brought together close to 400 participants from 29 countries. The speakers of the conference, whose contributions are collected in this volume, were invited to offer concrete proposals for how the Humanities can help to shape a future where social robotics is guided by the goals of enhancing socio-cultural values rather than by utility alone. The book is divided into 3 parts; Abstracts of Plenaries, which contains 6 plenary sessions; Session Papers, with 44 papers under 8 thematic categories; and Workshops, containing 25 items on 5 selected topics.“ (Website IOS Press) Contributors include Robert Sparrow, Alan Winfield, Aimee van Wynsberghe, John Danaher, Johanna Seibt, Marco Nørskov, Peter Remmers, John P. Sullins, and Oliver Bendel.
Fig.: A photo from the 2018 conference (with Hiroshi Ishiguro)
In the first part of the HUGGIE project initiated by Oliver Bendel, two students of the School of Business FHNW conducted an online survey with almost 300 participants. In the management summary of their bachelor thesis Ümmühan Korucu and Leonie Stocker (formerly Leonie Brogle) write: „The results of the survey indicated that people have a positive attitude towards robots in general as robots are perceived as interesting and useful rather than unnecessary and disturbing. However, only a minority of the participants stated that they would accept a hug from a robot. A possible reason for this could be that for the majority of participants, a hug is an act of intimacy with a deeper meaning attached to it which is only being shared with selected persons. For a robot to be perceived as an attractive hugging partner, a human-like design including a face, eyes, a friendly look as well as the ability to communicate verbally and non-verbally is desired. However, an appearance being too realistic has a deterrent effect. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of the data in relation to age and gender of the participants resulted in the discovery of interesting facts and differences. Overall, the findings contribute to a clearer picture about the appearance and the features Huggie should have in order to be accepted as a hugging counterpart.“ The bachelor thesis will be publicly available in autumn 2020. There will also be a paper with the results next year.
A multi-stage HUGGIE project is currently underway at the School of Business FHNW under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel. Ümmühan Korucu and Leonie Stocker (formerly Leonie Brogle) started with an online survey. The aim was to gain insights into how people of all ages and sexes judge a hug by a robot. In crises and catastrophes involving prolonged isolation, such as the COVID 19 pandemic, proxy hugs of this kind could well play a role. Prisons and longer journeys through space are also possible fields of applications. Nearly 300 people took part in the online survey. The evaluation is almost complete and the results are remarkable. Among other things, it was found that women want to be hugged by a robot that is bigger than them, and men want to be hugged by a robot that is smaller than them. Not only the size is relevant for the acceptance of robotic hugging: „An interesting input given by one of the participants was that it could be more pleasant to hug a robot if it smelled nicely, for example like chocolate.“ (Draft of Bachelor Thesis) Whether this is a typically Swiss view remains to be investigated. The results of the survey and the conclusions drawn from them for the design of HUGGIE will be compiled in a paper in the course of the year.
The topic of the 12th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2020) is „Entertaining Robots“, which is meant to be – according to the organizers – a play on words signifying that robots can serve as captivating social agents but also suggesting the challenges associated with managing these artifacts. „In the near future robots will be entering our social world taking on a wide variety of roles. This conference offers a venue for researchers and those interested in social robots to examine the progress that is being made towards the creation of social robots. ICSR 2020 will foster discussion related to the innovative approaches to developing social robots, the promise new robotic technologies, and possible positive and negative influences of social robots on society.“ (Website ICSR) ICSR 2020 was supposed to take place in Colorado, but will be conducted in a virtual format because of concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Deadline for paper submission is 29 June 2020. More information via sites.psu.edu/icsr2020/.
The field of animal-machine interaction is gaining new research topics with social robots. Meiying Qin from Yale University and her co-authors have brought together a Nao and a dog. From the abstract of their paper: „In two experiments, we investigate whether dogs respond to a social robot after the robot called their names, and whether dogs follow the ’sit‘ commands given by the robot. We conducted a between-subjects study (n = 34) to compare dogs‘ reactions to a social robot with a loudspeaker. Results indicate that dogs gazed at the robot more often after the robot called their names than after the loudspeaker called their names. Dogs followed the ’sit‘ commands more often given by the robot than given by the loudspeaker. The contribution of this study is that it is the first study to provide preliminary evidence that 1) dogs showed positive behaviors to social robots and that 2) social robots could influence dog’s behaviors. This study enhance the understanding of the nature of the social interactions between humans and social robots from the evolutionary approach. Possible explanations for the observed behavior might point toward dogs perceiving robots as agents, the embodiment of the robot creating pressure for socialized responses, or the multimodal (i.e., verbal and visual) cues provided by the robot being more attractive than our control condition.“ (Abstract) You can read the full paper via dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3371382.3380734.
