Abstract
This paper discusses the nuances of a social robot, how and why social robots are becoming increasingly significant, and what they are currently being used for. This paper also reflects on the current design of social robots as a means of interaction with humans and also reports potential solutions about several important questions around the futuristic design of these robots. The specific questions explored in this paper are: “Do social robots need to look like living creatures that already exist in the world for humans to interact well with them?”; “Do social robots need to have animated faces for humans to interact well with them?”; “Do social robots need to have the ability to speak a coherent human language for humans to interact well with them?” and “Do social robots need to have the capability to make physical gestures for humans to interact well with them?”. This paper reviews both verbal as well as nonverbal social and conversational cues that could be incorporated into the design of social robots, and also briefly discusses the emotional bonds that may be built between humans and robots. Facets surrounding acceptance of social robots by humans and also ethical/moral concerns have also been discussed.
Highlights
The field of robotics is very broad, as such, in the year 2014, the United Nations undertook a robotics survey, which grouped robots into three main types: Personal Service Robots, ProfessionalService Robots and Industrial service robots [1]
According to the International Standard Organisation (ISO) and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the definition of an industrial robot is “an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either, fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications”. Examples of these are assembly robots, painting robots and welding robots made by companies such as Kawasaki Robotics [3], Fanuc [4], and Denso [5], which are found in factories all over the world [6]
The ISO defines a professional service robot as “a robot usually used for commercial tasks, and usually operated by properly trained operators.”
Summary
The field of robotics is very broad, as such, in the year 2014, the United Nations undertook a robotics survey, which grouped robots into three main types: Personal Service Robots, Professional. According to the International Standard Organisation (ISO) and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the definition of an industrial robot is “an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes, which may be either, fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications”. According to Christoph Bartneck et al, “A social robot is an autonomous or semi-autonomous robot that interacts and communicates with humans by following the behavioural norms expected by the people with whom the robot is intended to interact” [1] This definition infers that a robot must have a physical body in addition to mimic human activity and the surrounding society and culture.
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