Escaping Oz: Autonomy in Socially Assistive Robotics

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlyn Clabaugh ◽  
Maja Matarić
Keyword(s):  
Design Patterns ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Wizard Of Oz ◽  
Socially Assistive Robotics ◽  
Special Needs Education ◽  
Engineering Practices ◽  
And Robotics

The field of socially assistive robotics (SAR) aims to supplement the efforts of clinicians, therapists, educators, and caregivers through individualized, socially mediated interventions with robots. SAR is faced with the interdisciplinary challenge to balance sensitive domain needs with current technical limitations. Many researchers in SAR and the broader human–robot interaction community overcome technical barriers by using a Wizard of Oz approach, or teleoperation of the robot or aspects of the interaction. Although Wizard of Oz is a well-established practice, it becomes intractable in critical SAR domains that require long-term, situated support, such as aging in place and special needs education. In this article, we define a set of autonomy-centric design properties for SAR interventions based on concepts from artificial intelligence and robotics. These properties structure a systematic review of the last decade of autonomous SAR research. From the review, we draw and discuss common computational methods, engineering practices, and design patterns that enable autonomy in SAR.

scholarly journals Benchmarks for evaluating socially assistive robotics

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Feil-Seifer ◽  
Kristine Skinner ◽  
Maja J. Matarić
Keyword(s):  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Application Domain ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Socially Assistive Robotics ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Many

Socially assistive robotics (SAR) is a growing area of research. Evaluating SAR systems presents novel challenges. Using a robot for a socially assistive task can have various benefits and ethical implications. Many questions are important to understanding whether a robot is effective for a given application domain. This paper describes several benchmarks for evaluating SAR systems. There exist numerous methods for evaluating the many factors involved in a robot’s design. Benchmarks from psychology, anthropology, medicine, and human–robot interaction are proposed as measures of success in evaluating a given SAR system and its impact on the user and broader population.

scholarly journals Long-Term Social Human-Robot Interaction for Neurorehabilitation: Robots as a Tool to Support Gait Therapy in the Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalia Céspedes ◽  
Denniss Raigoso ◽  
Marcela Múnera ◽  
Carlos A. Cifuentes
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Care ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Health Care Staff ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Term Evaluation ◽  
Gait Therapy

COVID-19 pandemic has affected the population worldwide, evidencing new challenges and opportunities for several kinds of emergent and existing technologies. Social Assistive Robotics could be a potential tool to support clinical care areas, promoting physical distancing, and reducing the contagion rate. In this context, this paper presents a long-term evaluation of a social robotic platform for gait neurorehabilitation. The robot's primary roles are monitoring physiological progress and promoting social interaction with human distancing during the sessions. A clinical validation with ten patients during 15 sessions were conducted in a rehabilitation center located in Colombia. Results showed that the robot's support improves the patients' physiological progress by reducing their unhealthy spinal posture time, with positive acceptance. 65% of patients described the platform as helpful and secure. Regarding the robot's role within the therapy, the health care staff agreed (>95%) that this tool can promote physical distancing and it is highly useful to support neurorehabilitation throughout the pandemic. These outcomes suggest the benefits of this tool to be further implemented in the pandemic.

Intersubjectivity in human–agent interaction

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine Cassell ◽  
Andrea Tartaro
Keyword(s):  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Embodied Conversational Agents ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Human Agent ◽  
Unconscious Communication ◽  
Agent Interaction ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
And Robotics

What is the hallmark of success in human–agent interaction? In animation and robotics, many have concentrated on the looks of the agent — whether the appearance is realistic or lifelike. We present an alternative benchmark that lies in the dyad and not the agent alone: Does the agent’s behavior evoke intersubjectivity from the user? That is, in both conscious and unconscious communication, do users react to behaviorally realistic agents in the same way they react to other humans? Do users appear to attribute similar thoughts and actions? We discuss why we distinguish between appearance and behavior, why we use the benchmark of intersubjectivity, our methodology for applying this benchmark to embodied conversational agents (ECAs), and why we believe this benchmark should be applied to human–robot interaction.

scholarly journals Towards a communication model for a sociable companion robot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Communication Model ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
The Public ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Robot Evaluation ◽  
Socially Assistive Robot

Anxiety has a lifetime prevalence of 31% of Canadians (Katzman et al. 2014). In Canada, psychological services are only covered by provincial health insurance if the psychologist is employed in the public sector; this means long wait times in the public system or expensive private coverage (Canadian Psychological Association). Currently, social robots and Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) are used in the treatment of elderly individuals in nursing homes, as well as children with autism (Feil-Seifer & Matarić, 2011; Tapus et al., 2012). The following MRP is the first step in a long-term project that will contend with the issues faced by individuals with anxiety using a combined communications, social robotics, and mental health approach to develop an anxiety specific socially assistive robot companion. The focus of this MRP is the development of a communication model that includes three core aspects of a social robot companion: Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), anxiety disorders, and technical design. The model I am developing will consist of a series of suggestions for the robot that could be implemented in a long-term study. The model will include suggestions towards the design, communication means, and technical requirements, as well as a model for evaluating the robot from a Human-Robot- Interaction perspective. This will be done through an evaluation of three robots, Sphero’s BB-8 App Enabled Droid, Aldebaran’s Nao, and the Spin Master Zoomer robot. Evaluation measures include modified versions of Shneiderman’s (1992) evaluation of human-factors goals, Feil-Seifer et al.’s (2007) SAR evaluative questions, prompts for the description of both the communication methods and the physical characteristics, and a record of the emotional response of the user when interacting with the robot.

scholarly journals Towards a communication model for a sociable companion robot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Communication Model ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
The Public ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Robot Evaluation ◽  
Socially Assistive Robot

Anxiety has a lifetime prevalence of 31% of Canadians (Katzman et al. 2014). In Canada, psychological services are only covered by provincial health insurance if the psychologist is employed in the public sector; this means long wait times in the public system or expensive private coverage (Canadian Psychological Association). Currently, social robots and Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) are used in the treatment of elderly individuals in nursing homes, as well as children with autism (Feil-Seifer & Matarić, 2011; Tapus et al., 2012). The following MRP is the first step in a long-term project that will contend with the issues faced by individuals with anxiety using a combined communications, social robotics, and mental health approach to develop an anxiety specific socially assistive robot companion. The focus of this MRP is the development of a communication model that includes three core aspects of a social robot companion: Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), anxiety disorders, and technical design. The model I am developing will consist of a series of suggestions for the robot that could be implemented in a long-term study. The model will include suggestions towards the design, communication means, and technical requirements, as well as a model for evaluating the robot from a Human-Robot- Interaction perspective. This will be done through an evaluation of three robots, Sphero’s BB-8 App Enabled Droid, Aldebaran’s Nao, and the Spin Master Zoomer robot. Evaluation measures include modified versions of Shneiderman’s (1992) evaluation of human-factors goals, Feil-Seifer et al.’s (2007) SAR evaluative questions, prompts for the description of both the communication methods and the physical characteristics, and a record of the emotional response of the user when interacting with the robot.

Robotics for Assisting Children with Physical and Cognitive Disabilities

2015 ◽  
pp. 78-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Tee Kit Tsun ◽  
Lau Bee Theng ◽  
Hudyjaya Siswoyo Jo ◽  
Patrick Then Hang Hui
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cerebral Palsy ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Active Movement ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Passive Stretching ◽  
Locomotion Training

This chapter summarizes the findings of a study on robotics research and application for assisting children with disabilities between the years 2009 and 2013. The said disabilities include impairment of motor skills, locomotion, and social interaction that is commonly attributed to children suffering from Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Cerebral Palsy (CP). As opposed to assistive technologies for disabilities that largely account for restoration of physical capabilities, disabled children also require dedicated rehabilitation for social interaction and mental health. As such, the breadth of this study covers existing efforts in rehabilitation of both physical and socio-psychological domains, which involve Human-Robot Interaction. Overviewed topics include assisted locomotion training, passive stretching and active movement rehabilitation, upper-extremity motor function, social interactivity, therapist-mediators, active play encouragement, as well as several life-long assistive robotics in current use. This chapter concludes by drawing attention to ethical and adoption issues that may obstruct the field's effectiveness.

scholarly journals Multiscale Entropy Quantifies the Differential Effect of the Medium Embodiment on Older Adults Prefrontal Cortex during the Story Comprehension: A Comparative Analysis

Entropy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soheil Keshmiri ◽  
Hidenobu Sumioka ◽  
Ryuji Yamazaki ◽  
Hiroshi Ishiguro
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Assistive Robotics ◽  
Multiscale Entropy ◽  
Story Comprehension ◽  
Complementary Information ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Age Related

Todays’ communication media virtually impact and transform every aspect of our daily communication and yet the extent of their embodiment on our brain is unexplored. The study of this topic becomes more crucial, considering the rapid advances in such fields as socially assistive robotics that envision the use of intelligent and interactive media for providing assistance through social means. In this article, we utilize the multiscale entropy (MSE) to investigate the effect of the physical embodiment on the older people’s prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity while listening to stories. We provide evidence that physical embodiment induces a significant increase in MSE of the older people’s PFC activity and that such a shift in the dynamics of their PFC activation significantly reflects their perceived feeling of fatigue. Our results benefit researchers in age-related cognitive function and rehabilitation who seek for the adaptation of these media in robot-assistive cognitive training of the older people. In addition, they offer a complementary information to the field of human-robot interaction via providing evidence that the use of MSE can enable the interactive learning algorithms to utilize the brain’s activation patterns as feedbacks for improving their level of interactivity, thereby forming a stepping stone for rich and usable human mental model.

scholarly journals The Importance of Realism, Character, and Genre: How Theatre Can Support the Creation of Likeable Sociable Robots

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise LePage
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Humanoid Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Romantic Comedy ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Narrative Studies ◽  
Effective Performance ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Carry Over ◽  
And Robotics

AbstractStage plays, theories of theatre, narrative studies, and robotics research can serve to identify, explore, and interrogate theatrical elements that support the effective performance of sociable humanoid robots. Theatre, including its parts of performance, aesthetics, character, and genre, can also reveal features of human–robot interaction key to creating humanoid robots that are likeable rather than uncanny. In particular, this can be achieved by relating Mori's (1970/2012) concept of total appearance to realism. Realism is broader and more subtle in its workings than is generally recognised in its operationalization in studies that focus solely on appearance. For example, it is complicated by genre. A realistic character cast in a detective drama will convey different qualities and expectations than the same character in a dystopian drama or romantic comedy. The implications of realism and genre carry over into real life. As stage performances and robotics studies reveal, likeability depends on creating aesthetically coherent representations of character, where all the parts coalesce to produce a socially identifiable figure demonstrating predictable behaviour.

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