Miscellaneous

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/5GQsKBZaaH8

Robots in a Human World

Published on Nov 25, 2014


From disaster recovery to caring for the elderly in the home, NSF-funded scientists and engineers are developing robots that can handle critical tasks in close proximity to humans, safely and with greater resilience than previous generations of intelligent machines.

Roboticists Julie Shah of MIT, Michael Peshkin of Northwestern, Allison Okamura of Stanford, and Lynn Parker of NSF talk about the challenges and benefits involved in the creation of cooperative robots.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/mQtiCQHDyAA

In Japanese nursing home patients treated with robotic seals

Published on Aug 6, 2013


In Japanese nursing homes runs the program, in which a lone grandparents provide robotic seal named Paro. Cute and fluffy devices express emotions (surprise, happiness, and even anger), respond to his name, and learn to respond to the words ...

[Airicist]

Article "My robot friend: People find real comfort in artificial companionship (https://www.nbcnews.com/technology/my-robot-friend-people-find-real-comfort-artificial-companionship-6C10146787)"

by Nidhi Subbaraman
June 3, 2013

[Airicist]

Article "Robots that may help you in your silver age (https://robohub.org/robots-that-may-help-you-in-your-silver-age)"

by SPARC
April 7, 2016

[Airicist]

Article "The one-armed robot that will look after me until I die (https://qz.com/666104/the-one-armed-robot-that-will-look-after-me-until-i-die)"

by Geoff Watts
April 20, 2016

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/7q6OyVcxtoE

The future of social robots

Published on Jan 21, 2017


Could a robot be your best friend? Designing robots that interact with humans is challenging. Not only do you need to get the tech right so that the robot can operate within a human environment, you have to understand human psychology to make the experience a positive one. We look into the considerations computer scientists have to make in order to create the robots we'll socialize with in the future.

[Airicist]

Article "Understanding social robotics (https://robohub.org/understanding-social-robotics)"

by Thosha Moodley
January 24, 2017

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/UU8CXrSh2po

RI Seminar: Selma Sabanovic: Robots for the social good

Published on Apr 28, 2017


RI Seminar: Selma Sabanovic: Robots for the social good

Identifying and addressing organizational and societal factors in the design and use of robots

Selma Sabanovic
Associate Professor of Informatics and Cognitive Science, Indiana University Bloomington

Abstract
Robots are expected to become ubiquitous in the near future, working alongside and with people in everyday environments to provide various societal benefits. In contrast to this broad ranging social vision for robotics applications, evaluations of robots and studies of human-robot interaction have largely focused on more constrained contexts, largely dyadic and small group interactions in laboratories. As a result, we have a limited understanding of how robots are perceived, adopted and supported in open-ended, natural social circumstances in which researchers have little control of the ensuing interactions.

This talk will discuss insights from a series of studies of the design and use of socially assistive robots (SARs) for eldercare aimed at expanding our awareness of the broader cultural, organizational, and societal dynamics that affect the use and consequences of robots outside the laboratory. Our in-home interviews with older adults suggested that existing robot designs reproduce unwanted stereotypes of aging, while naturalistic observation of robot use in a nursing home shows that ongoing labor by various groups of users is needed to produce successful voluntary human-robot interactions. In response to these findings, we are currently engaging in participatory design of robots with older adults and clinicians to provide an opportunity for mutual learning, inspire both sides to think beyond common stereotypes of older adults and robots, and identify non-technical issues of particular concern to clinicians and older adults that may affect long-term robot adoption. These concerns include the fit of robots to the home environments and values of older adults, to the labor practices and clinical needs of care staff, and to the broader healthcare infrastructure (e.g. insurance mechanisms). In conclusion, I will discuss ways to address broader organizational and societal issues in the course of robot design and development, working together with potential users and other stakeholders to avoid unwanted consequences and create robust social supports that can cope with the inevitable challenges that emerge when we apply robots in society.

Speaker Biography
I am an Associate Professor of Informatics and Cognitive Science at Indiana University, Bloomington, where I founded and direct the R-House Human-Robot Interaction Lab. My work combines the social studies of computing, focusing particularly on the design, use, and consequences of socially interactive and assistive robots in different social and cultural contexts, with research on human-robot interaction (HRI) and social robot design. I spent Summer 2014 as a Visiting Professor at Bielefeld University’s Cluster of Excellence in Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC). Prior to coming to IUB, I was a lecturer in Stanford University’s Program in Science, Technology and Society in 2008/2009, and a visiting scholar at the Intelligent Systems Institute in AIST, Tsukuba, Japan and the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in 2005. I was awarded IU’s Outstanding Junior Faculty Award in 2013, and the Trustee’s Teaching Award in 2016. I received my PhD in Science and Technology Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2007.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/zsK5T_WI5kg

Playing with social robots

Published on May 25, 2017


Alison Berman of Singularity Hub interviews Matthew Ebisu at Singularity University's Exponential Manufacturing Conference. Matthew Ebisu is a robotics maker at the Singularity University iLab.

[Airicist]

Article "Robots offer the elderly a helping hand (https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/robots-offer-elderly-helping-hand_en.html)"

by Helen Massy-Beresford
June 20, 2017

[Airicist]

Article "Thought leadership in social sector robotics (https://robohub.org/thought-leadership-in-social-sector-robotics)"

by Patrick Meier
June 20, 2017

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/1B7sUXdppO8

Ridgeback robot mobilizes social robotics research at Halmstad University, Sweden

Published on Jul 21, 2017


Social robotics researchers at Halmstad University in Sweden are using a Baxter on Ridgeback robot to explore how robots can help people in everyday life.

[Airicist]

Article "New robot rolls with the rules of pedestrian conduct (http://news.mit.edu/2017/new-robot-rolls-rules-pedestrian-conduct-0830)"
Approach may enable robots to move around hospitals, malls, and other areas with heavy foot traffic.

by Jennifer Chu
August 29, 2017

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/AokXQnhq3D8

Introducing the storytellers project

Published on Mar 25, 2018


We’re so excited to be introducing the first part of The Storytellers Project by Laura Boffi. This project aims to create a community of senior readers who volunteer to hold remote reading aloud sessions for children and their families. A robot called ‘Storybell’, powered by Makeblock’s mBot, is used by children at home, allowing them to connect with seniors willing to have a reading session.

[Airicist]

Article "How googly eyes solved one of today’s trickiest UX problems (https://www.fastcompany.com/90395110/how-googly-eyes-solved-one-of-todays-trickiest-ux-problems)"
A little robot at a library in Helsinki went from reviled to beloved, all because it got a new pair of plastic eyes.

by Katharine Schwab
August 27, 2019

[Airicist2]

https://youtu.be/Ksc9glz-XFw

Closing Keynote: Human-Centered AI for sustainability: Case Social Robots

Nov 23, 2021


Closing Keynote: Human-Centered AI for sustainability: Case Social Robots
Kaisa Väänänen (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaisav)

ISS ’21: ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces Conference

Abstract:
AI applications are entering all areas of society. While research and development in AI technologies have taken major leaps, AI’s sustainability perspectives are not extensively integrated in the development of AI applications. The first part of this talk addresses the founding questions of Human-Centered AI (HCAI) and proposes approaches that can be used to ensure that the sustainability needs are in the centre of AI development. Then, in the second part of the talk, examples from the context of studies of social robots are presented to highlight the HCAI concepts in practice. Finally, an outline for interdisciplinary sustainable AI design methodology is proposed.