Does Japan really have robot mania? Comparing attitudes by implicit and explicit measures

Japan has more robots than any other country with robots contributing to many areas of society, including manufacturing, healthcare, and entertainment. However, few studies have examined Japanese attitudes toward robots, and none has used implicit measures. This study compares attitudes among the faculty of a US and a Japanese university. Although the Japanese faculty reported many more experiences with robots, implicit measures indicated both faculties had more pleasant associations with humans. In addition, although the US faculty reported people were more threatening than robots, implicit measures indicated both faculties associated weapons more strongly with robots than with humans. Despite the media’s hype about Japan’s robot ‘craze,’ response similarities suggest factors other than attitude better explain robot adoption. These include differences in history and religion, personal and human identity, economic structure, professional specialization, and government policy. Japanese robotics offers a unique reference from which other nations may learn.

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A unifying framework for robot control with redundant DOFs

Recently, Udwadia (Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 2003:1783–1800, 2003) suggested to derive tracking controllers for mechanical systems with redundant degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) using a generalization of Gauss’ principle of least constraint. This method allows reformulating control problems as a special class of optimal controllers. In this paper, we take this line of reasoning one step further and demonstrate that several well-known and also novel nonlinear robot control laws can be derived from this generic methodology. We show experimental verifications on a Sarcos Master Arm robot for some of the derived controllers. The suggested approach offers a promising unification and simplification of nonlinear control law design for robots obeying rigid body dynamics equations, both with or without external constraints, with over-actuation or underactuation, as well as open-chain and closed-chain kinematics.

Caregiving robots and ethical reflection: the perspective of interdisciplinary technology assessment

Autonomous robots that are capable of learning are being developed to make it easier for human actors to achieve their goals. As such, robots are primarily a means to an end and replace human actions (or parts of them). An interdisciplinary technology assessment was carried out to determine the extent to which a replacement of this kind makes ethical sense in terms of technology, economics and legal aspects. Proceeding from an ethical perspective, derived from Kant’s formula of humanity, in this article we analyse the use of robots in the care of the elderly or infirm and then examine robot learning in the context of this kind of cooperation.

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Adaptive behavior in turning of an oscillator-driven biped robot

This paper concentrates on a biped robot’s turning behavior that consists of straight and curved walking and the transition between these two patterns. We investigate how a robot achieves adaptive walking during such turning by focusing on rhythm control and propose a locomotion control system that generates robot motions by rhythmic signals from internal oscillators and modulates signal generation based on touch sensor signals. First, we verify that the robot attains limit cycles of straight and curved walking by numerical simulations and hardware experiments. Second, we examine the transition between these walking patterns based on the basin of attraction of the limit cycles in numerical simulations. Finally, we verify whether the robot actually accomplishes transition and turning by hardware experiments. This paper clarifies that the robot establishes such turning motions by adequate modulation of walking rhythm and phase through interactions between the dynamics of its mechanical system, oscillators, and environment.

Improving walking-robot performances by optimizing leg distribution

Walking-robot technology has already achieved an important stage of development, as demonstrated in a few real applications. However, walking robots still need further improvement if they are to compete with traditional vehicles. A potential improvement could be made through optimization at design time. A better distribution of the legs around a robot’s body can help decrease actuator size in the design procedure and reduce power consumption during walking as well, which is of vital importance in autonomous robots. This paper, thus, presents a method focused on the distribution of legs around the body to decrease maximum foot forces against the ground, which play heavily in determining robot shape and actuator size. Some experiments have been performed with the SILO6 walking robot to validate the theoretical results.

Experimental investigation into influence of negative attitudes toward robots on human–robot interaction

Negative attitudes toward robots are considered as one of the psychological factors preventing humans from interacting with robots in the daily life. To verify their influence on humans‘ behaviors toward robots, we designed and executed experiments where subjects interacted with Robovie, which is being developed as a platform for research on the possibility of communication robots. This paper reports and discusses the results of these experiments on correlation between subjects’ negative attitudes and their behaviors toward robots. Moreover, it discusses influences of gender and experience of real robots on their negative attitudes and behaviors toward robots.

Guidance of a mobile robot using an array of static cameras located in the environment

This paper presents a new proposal for positioning and guiding mobile robots in indoor environments. The proposal is based on the information provided by static cameras located in the movement environment. This proposal falls within the scope of what are known as intelligent environments; in this case, the environment is provided with cameras that, once calibrated, allow the position of the robots to be obtained. Based on this information, control orders for the robots can be generated using a radio frequency link. In order to facilitate identification of the robots, even under extremely adverse ambient lighting conditions, a beacon consisting of four circular elements constructed from infrared diodes is mounted on board the robots. In order to identify the beacon, an edge detection process is carried out. This is followed by a process that, based on the algebraic distance, obtains the estimated ellipses associated with each element of the beacon. Once the beacon has been identified, the coordinates of the centroids for the elements that make up the beacon are obtained on the various image planes. Based on these coordinates, an algorithm is proposed that takes into account the standard deviation of the error produced in the various cameras in ascertaining the coordinates of the beacon’s elements. An odometric system is also used in guidance that, in conjunction with a Kalman Filter, allows the position of the robot to be estimated during the time intervals required to process the visual information provided by the cameras.

Interacting with mobile services: an evaluation of camera-phones and visual tags

We present a study of using camera-phones and visual-tags to access mobile services. Firstly, a user-experience study is described in which participants were both observed learning to interact with a prototype mobile service and interviewed about their experiences. Secondly, a pointing-device task is presented in which quantitative data was gathered regarding the speed and accuracy with which participants aimed and clicked on visual-tags using camera-phones. We found that participants’ attitudes to visual-tag-based applications were broadly positive, although they had several important reservations about camera-phone technology more generally. Data from our pointing-device task demonstrated that novice users were able to aim and click on visual-tags quickly (well under 3 s per pointing-device trial on average) and accurately (almost all meeting our defined speed/accuracy tradeoff of 6% error-rate). Based on our findings, design lessons for camera-phone and visual-tag applications are presented.

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Reinforcement learning for robot soccer

Batch reinforcement learning methods provide a powerful framework for learning efficiently and effectively in autonomous robots. The paper reviews some recent work of the authors aiming at the successful application of reinforcement learning in a challenging and complex domain. It discusses several variants of the general batch learning framework, particularly tailored to the use of multilayer perceptrons to approximate value functions over continuous state spaces. The batch learning framework is successfully used to learn crucial skills in our soccer-playing robots participating in the RoboCup competitions. This is demonstrated on three different case studies.

Salient human detection for robot vision

In this paper, we propose a salient human detection method that uses pre-attentive features and a support vector machine (SVM) for robot vision. From three pre-attentive features (color, luminance and motion), we extracted three feature maps and combined them as a salience map. By using these features, we estimated a given object’s location without pre-assumptions or semi-automatic interaction. We were able to choose the most salient object even if multiple objects existed. We also used the SVM to decide whether a given object was human (among the candidate object regions). For the SVM, we used a new feature extraction method to reduce the feature dimensions and reflect the variations of local features to classifiers by using an edged-mosaic image. The main advantage of the proposed method is that our algorithm was able to detect salient humans regardless of the amount of movement, and also distinguish salient humans from non-salient humans. The proposed algorithm can be easily applied to human robot interfaces for human-like vision systems.

Validation methods for an accessible user interface for a rehabilitation robot

This paper describes the research methods required for the development and validation of a user interface for a wheelchair mounted manipulator for use by severely disabled persons. It explains the construction of the interface using tasks to define the user interface architecture. It outlines the experiments used to evaluate the user responses and draws conclusions about the effectiveness of the whole system. A systematic procedure is defined to obtain numerical estimates of the effectiveness of task analysis for individual use. This approach marries engineering procedures with a consideration of the human interaction. The prototype robot used several gesture recognition systems to achieve a better level of accessibility and usability than other robots used for rehabilitation at this time. Two different approaches to user interfaces were tested with different input devices.

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Exploring mindlessness as an explanation for the media equation: a study of stereotyping in computer tutorials

This study extends previous media equation research by empirically testing the mindlessness explanation of media equation behaviour. The current study explored the potential moderating effect of mood on media equation behaviour. Specifically, the study assessed whether participants’ tendency to stereotype when interacting with a computer varied as a function of mood. Seventy-six undergraduate students were exposed to either a positive or negative mood manipulation and then completed a computer-based tutorial on car engines. The tutorial was presented using either a male or female synthesised voice. Participants’ affective state, attitudes and opinions were assessed via questionnaire. Female participants in a positive mood showed a greater propensity to gender-stereotype computers than female participants in a negative mood, suggesting that media equation behaviour is more likely to result when people are in a mindless state. Male participants, however, did not show the same pattern of behaviour.

A dynamically reconfigurable stereoscopic/panoramic vision mobile robot head controlled from a virtual environment

We have built a mobile robotic platform that features an Active Robotic Head (ARH) with two high-resolution cameras that can be switched during robot operation between two configurations that produce respectively panoramic and stereoscopic images. Image disparity is used for improving the quality of the texture. The robot head switches dynamically, based on robot operation between the stereoscopic configuration and the panoramic configuration.

Ethical regulations on robotics in Europe

There are only a few ethical regulations that deal explicitly with robots, in contrast to a vast number of regulations, which may be applied. We will focus on ethical issues with regard to “responsibility and autonomous robots”, “machines as a replacement for humans”, and “tele-presence”. Furthermore we will examine examples from special fields of application (medicine and healthcare, armed forces, and entertainment). We do not claim to present a complete list of ethical issue nor of regulations in the field of robotics, but we will demonstrate that there are legal challenges with regard to these issues.

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Adding phonetic similarity data to a lexical database

As part of a project to construct an interactive program which would encourage children to play with language by building jokes, we developed a lexical database, starting from WordNet. To the existing information about part of speech, synonymy, hyponymy, etc., we have added phonetic representations and phonetic similarity ratings for pairs of words/phrases.

Fault detection in autonomous robots based on fault injection and learning

In this paper, we study a new approach to fault detection for autonomous robots. Our hypothesis is that hardware faults change the flow of sensory data and the actions performed by the control program. By detecting these changes, the presence of faults can be inferred. In order to test our hypothesis, we collect data from three different tasks performed by real robots. During a number of training runs, we record sensory data from the robots while they are operating normally and after a fault has been injected. We use back-propagation neural networks to synthesize fault detection components based on the data collected in the training runs. We evaluate the performance of the trained fault detectors in terms of number of false positives and time it takes to detect a fault. The results show that good fault detectors can be obtained. We extend the set of possible faults and go on to show that a single fault detector can be trained to detect several faults in both a robot’s sensors and actuators. We show that fault detectors can be synthesized that are robust to variations in the task, and we show how a fault detector can be trained to allow one robot to detect faults that occur in another robot.

“What are We Missing?” Usability’s Indexical Ground

In this paper, we describe how usability provides the indexical ground upon which design work in a surgery is achieved. Indexical and deictic referential practices are used (1) to constitute participation frameworks and work sites in an instructional surgery and (2) to encode and manage participants’ differential access to the relevancies and background knowledge required for the achievement of a successful surgical outcome. As a site for both learning and work, the operating room afforded us the opportunity to examine how usability, which is a critical design consideration, can be used as a resource for learning in interaction. In our detailed analysis of the interaction among participants (both co-present and projected) we sought to describe a particular case of how usability was produced as a relevant consideration for surgical education in the operating room. In doing so, we demonstrate a set of members’ methods by which actors worked to establish and provide for the relevance of the anticipated needs of projected users as part of developing an understanding of their current activity.

Socializing artifacts as a half mirror of the mind

In the near future, our life will normally be surrounded with fairly complicated artifacts, enabled by the autonomous robot and brain–machine interface technologies. In this paper, we argue that what we call the responsibility flaw problem and the inappropriate use problem need to be overcome in order for us to benefit from complicated artifacts. In order to solve these problems, we propose an approach to endowing artifacts with an ability of socially communicating with other agents based on the artifact-as-a-half-mirror metaphor. The idea is to have future artifacts behave according to the hybrid intention composed of the owner’s intention and the social rules. We outline the approach and discuss its feasibility together with preliminary work.

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Rescuing interfaces: A multi-year study of human-robot interaction at the AAAI Robot Rescue Competition

This paper presents results from three years of studying human-robot interaction in the context of the AAAI Robot Rescue Competition. We discuss our study methodology, the competitors’ systems and performance, and suggest ways to improve human-robot interaction in urban search and rescue (USAR) as well as other remote robot operations.