Alle Publikationen
2020
-
(2020): The Secret Life of Robots: Perspectives and Challenges for Robot’s Behaviours During Non-interactive Tasks. In: International Journal of Social Robotics, S. 1265-1278. DOI: 10.1007/s12369-020-00650-z
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-020-00650-z Abstract: Some applications of service robots within domestic and working environments are envisaged to be a significant part of our lives in the not too distant future. They are developed to autonomously accomplish different tasks either on behalf of or in collaboration with a human being. Robots can perceive and interpret data from the external environment, so they also collect personal information and habits; they can plan, navigate, and manipulate objects, eventually intruding in our personal space and disturbing us in the current activities. Indeed, such capabilities need to be socially enhanced to ensure their effective deployment and to favour a significant social impact. The modelling and evaluation of a service robot’s behaviour, while not interacting with a human, have only been marginally considered in the last few years. But these can be expected to play a key role in developing socially acceptable robotic applications that can be used widely. To explore this research direction, we present research objectives related to the effective development of socially-aware service robots that are not involved in tasks that require explicit interaction with a person. Such discussion aims at highlighting some of the future challenges that will be posed for the social robotics community in the next years.
2019
-
(2019) : A Robot Barista Comments on its Clients: Social Attitudes Toward Robot Data Use: 2019 14th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI): Daegu, Korea: IEEE, S. 66-74
2018
-
(2018) : Real-time Intelligent Tele-Care Assistance Systems In: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: Broadband Coverage in Germany; 12th ITG-Symposium: Berlin, Germany: VDE Verlag GmbH, S. 1-4. Online verfügbar unter https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8385230/
Abstract: The combination and fusion of technologies and procedures from "Ambient Assisted Living" (AAL), "Human-Technology Interaction" (MTI) and "eHealth" to target a real-time capable sensor data analysis-framework is the re-search focus of the "fast care"-project. This project is a part of the combined "fast" consortium at the Technical University of Dresden, which consists of more than 25 project parts working on the Next Generation 5G haptic internet. "Fast care" is focused on haptic care in the home environment. Measurements and observations by an adhoc-networked, real-time sensor infrastructure are performed with the aim of creating an integrated situation picture for direct interaction with an actor infrastructure or for the generation of a future forecast - with a latency period of less than 10 ms.
2017
-
(2017): Structured learning for spoken language understanding in human-robot interaction. In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBOTICS RESEARCH 36 (5-7), S. 660-683
Abstract: Robots are slowly becoming a part of everyday life, being marketed for commercial applications such as telepresence, cleaning or entertainment. Thus, the ability to interact via natural language with non-expert users is becoming a key requirement. Even if user utterances can be efficiently recognized and transcribed by automatic speech recognition systems, several issues arise in translating them into suitable robotic actions and most of the existing solutions are strictly related to a specific scenario. In this paper, we present an approach to the design of natural language interfaces for human robot interaction, to translate spoken commands into computational structures that enable the robot to execute the intended request. The proposed solution is achieved by combining a general theory of language semantics, i.e. frame semantics, with state-of-the-art methods for robust spoken language understanding, based on structured learning algorithms. The adopted data driven paradigm allows the development of a fully functional natural language processing chain, that can be initialized by re-using available linguistic tools and resources. In addition, it can be also specialized by providing small sets of examples representative of a target newer domain. A systematic benchmarking resource, in terms of a rich and multi-layered spoken corpus has also been created and it has been used to evaluate the natural language processing chain. Our results show that our processing chain, trained with generic resources, provides a solid baseline for command understanding in a service robot domain. Moreover, when domain-dependent resources are provided to the system, the accuracy of the achieved interpretation always improves.
Keywords: Algorithmen, doppelter Treffer, frame semantics, Frame-Semantik, Interaktion, Korpus, Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation, Mensch-Technik-Interaktion, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), narürliche Sprache, natural language interface, Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Realtechnik, Robotik, Serviceroboter, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Robotik, speech processing, Sprache, Sprachgebrauch, Sprachverarbeitung, Sprachverstehen, Status / biologische Marker, structured learning algorithm, Technik -
(2017): Teaching Robot’s Proactive Behavior Using Human Assistance. In: International Journal of Social Robotics 9 (2), S. 231-249. DOI: 10.1007/s12369-016-0389-0
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in enabling autonomous social robots to interact with people. However, many questions remain unresolved regarding the social capabilities robots should have in order to perform this interaction in an ever more natural manner. In this paper, we tackle this problem through a comprehensive study of various topics involved in the interaction between a mobile robot and untrained human volunteers for a variety of tasks. In particular, this work presents a framework that enables the robot to proactively approach people and establish friendly interaction. To this end, we provided the robot with several perception and action skills, such as that of detecting people, planning an approach and communicating the intention to initiate a conversation while expressing an emotional status. We also introduce an interactive learning system that uses the person's volunteered assistance to incrementally improve the robot's perception skills. As a proof of concept, we focus on the particular task of online face learning and recognition. We conducted real-life experiments with our Tibi robot to validate the framework during the interaction process. Within this study, several surveys and user studies have been realized to reveal the social acceptability of the robot within the context of different tasks.
-
(2017): Artificial agents among us. Should we recognize them as agents proper?. In: Ethics and Information Technology 19 (1), S. 1-17. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-016-9411-3
Abstract: Abstract In this paper, I discuss whether in a society where the use of artificial agents is pervasive, these agents should be recognized as having rights like those we accord to group agents. This kind of recognition I understand to be at once social and legal, and I argue that in order for an artificial agent to be so recognized, it will need to meet the same basic conditions in light of which group agents are granted such recognition. I then explore the implications of granting recognition in this manner. The thesis I will be defending is that artificial agents that do meet the conditions of agency in light of which we ascribe rights to group agents should thereby be recognized as having similar rights. The reason for bringing group agents into the picture is that, like artificial agents, they are not self-evidently agents of the sort to which we would naturally ascribe rights, or at least that is what the historical record suggests if we look, for example, at what it took for corporations to gain legal status in the law as group agents entitled to rights and, consequently, as entities subject to responsibilities. This is an example of agency ascribed to a nonhuman agent, and just as a group agent can be described as nonhuman, so can an artificial agent. Therefore, if these two kinds of nonhuman agents can be shown to be sufficiently similar in relevant ways, the agency ascribed to one can also be ascribed to the other-this despite the fact that neither is human, a major impediment when it comes to recognizing an entity as an agent proper, and hence as a bearer of rights.
Keywords: agency, Anerkennung, Anerkennung technischer Systeme, Anerkennung und technische Systeme, Artificial agent, artificial agents, doppelter Treffer, Favoriten, Group agent, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Modelle/Theorien, Personhood, RATIONALITY, Realtechnik, recognition and self, responsibility, Rights, Serviceroboter, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Robotik, Technik -
(2017): The Influence of Politeness Behavior on User Compliance with Social Robots in a Healthcare Service Setting. In: International Journal of Social Robotics 9 (5), S. 727-743. DOI: 10.1007/s12369-017-0420-0
Abstract: Particularly in the healthcare service domain, social robots are expected to be good assistants, advisers, or practitioners. To increase the effectiveness of healthcare services provided by social robots, patients must comply with their requests. Research is plentiful on what makes patients comply with healthcare advice. In this paper, which is based on Bulgurcu's study of rationality-based beliefs, command-compliance theory, and social exchange theory, we propose a research model of compliance during interaction with social robots, examining beliefs about and overall assessments of the consequences of complying with robot requests and extending the findings of previous studies to the setting of healthcare services. We specifically investigate the perceived level of politeness in robots' speech and gestures as a determinant of compliance intention. Using a social robot, NAO, as a provider of healthcare services, we conducted an experiment. The results suggest that the aforementioned theories are useful in understanding user behaviors toward social robots in a healthcare service setting. Interestingly, and unlike in other settings, the perceived level of politeness of a social robot in a healthcare service setting negatively affects the perceived benefit of compliance, and, hence, intention to comply. A lower politeness level is closer to a command or strong recommendation than a suggestion or causal recommendation, which is common in shopping, tourism, or convention settings. The findings of this study imply that polite behavior from a social robot is an important factor in the compliance of healthcare service users. Direct speech with polite gestures is the most effective way to increase patient compliance in with healthcare advice provided by social robots in healthcare settings. However, higher levels of politeness do not always increase patients' intention to comply.
Keywords: Assistenztechnik, Befehle/eindringliche Empfehlung als Marker für Unhöflichkeit, Compliance, Disziplin, doppelter Treffer, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, human-robot interaction, Ingenieurswissenschaft, Interaktionspartner, Medizin, Mensch oder Maschine, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), polite social interaction, Politeness, Politeness Theory, Realtechnik, Robotics, Serviceroboter, Social exchange theory, Social robot, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Robotik, Technik, Technikbezug -
(2017): A framework for designing socially assistive robot interactions. In: COGNITIVE SYSTEMS RESEARCH 43, S. 301-312. DOI: 10.1016/j.cogsys.2016.09.008
Abstract: Robots are increasingly tested in different socially assistive scenarios. Future applications range from dieting, coaching, tutoring to autism therapy. In such applications the success of the system is commonly evaluated by the ability to encourage the user to keep up with a task. Hence, one important requirement for supportive systems is to have an interactional motivational model that formalizes the way how users can be assisted. In this paper we describe our framework for coordinating motivational interaction scenarios with socially assistive robots (SAR) in the context of sport assistance. We exemplify three different sport scenarios where we have used the same motivational interaction model. Furthermore, we show how this model can be used to systematically test the different aspects of motivation in the context of SAR in sport domains. Therefore, we have conducted an experiment to evaluate the importance of acknowledgement from SAR for human interaction partners. The results show that users exercise longer if acknowledgment is included into the motivational model. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
-
(2017): Toward Socially Aware Robot Navigation in Dynamic and Crowded Environments. A Proactive Social Motion Model. In: IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering 14 (4), S. 1743-1760. DOI: 10.1109/TASE.2017.2731371
Abstract: Safe and social navigation is the key to deploying a mobile service robot in a human-centered environment. Widespread acceptability of mobile service robots in daily life is hindered by robot's inability to navigate in crowded and dynamic human environments in a socially acceptable way that would guarantee human safety and comfort. In this paper, we propose an effective proactive social motion model (PSMM) that enables a mobile service robot to navigate safely and socially in crowded and dynamic environments. The proposed method considers not only human states (position, orientation, motion, field of view, and hand poses) relative to the robot but also social interactive information about human-object and human group interactions. This allows development of the PSMM that consists of elements of an extended social force model and a hybrid reciprocal velocity obstacle technique. The PSMM is then combined with a path planning technique to generate a motion planning system that drives a mobile robot in a socially acceptable manner and produces respectful and polite behaviors akin to human movements. Note to Practitioners-In this paper, we validated the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed proactive social motion model (PSMM) through both simulation and real-world experiments under the newly proposed human comfortable safety indices. To do that, we first implemented the entire navigation system using the open-source robot operating system. We then installed it in a simulated robot model and conducted experiments in a simulated shopping mall-like environment to verify its effectiveness. We also installed the proposed algorithm on our mobile robot platform and conducted experiments in our office-like laboratory environment. Our results show that the developed socially aware navigation framework allows a mobile robot to navigate safely, socially, and proactively while guaranteeing human safety and comfort in crowded and dynamic environments. In this paper, we examined the proposed PSMM with a set of predefined parameters selected based on our empirical experiences about the robot mechanism and selected social environment. However, in fact a mobile robot might need to adapt to various contextual and cultural situations in different social environments. Thus, it should be equipped with an online adaptive interactive learning mechanism allowing the robot to learn to auto-adjust their parameters according to such embedded environments. Using machine learning techniques, e.g., inverse reinforcement learning [1] to optimize the parameter set for the PSMM could be a promising research direction to improve adaptability of mobile service robots in different social environments. In the future, we will evaluate the proposed framework based on a wider variety of scenarios, particularly those with different social interaction situations and dynamic environments. Furthermore, various kinds of social cues and signals introduced in [2] and [3] will be applied to extend the proposed framework in more complicated social situations and contexts. Last but not least, we will investigate different machine learning techniques and incorporate them in the PSMM in order to allow the robot to automatically adapt to diverse social environments.
Keywords: Disziplin, Favoriten, Human comfortable safety, Ingenieurswissenschaft, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), mobile service robots, Modelle/Theorien, proactive social motion model (PSMM), Realtechnik, Robotics, Serviceroboter, social field and polite, social robots, socially aware robot navigation, Soziale Robotik, Technik 2016
-
(2016): Making New “New AI” Friends. Designing a Social Robot for Diabetic Children from an Embodied AI Perspective. In: International Journal of Social Robotics 8 (4), S. 523-537. DOI: 10.1007/s12369-016-0364-9
Abstract: Robin is a cognitively and motivationally autonomous affective robot toddler with "robot diabetes" that we have developed to support perceived self-efficacy and emotional wellbeing in children with diabetes. Robin provides children with positive mastery experiences of diabetes management in a playful but realistic and natural interaction context. Underlying the design of Robin is an "Embodied" (formerly also known as "New") Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach to robotics. In this paper we discuss the rationale behind the design of Robin to meet the needs of our intended end users (both children and medical staff), and how "New AI" provides a suitable approach to developing a friendly companion that fulfills the therapeutic and affective requirements of our end users beyond other approaches commonly used in assistive robotics and child-robot interaction. Finally, we discuss how our approach permitted our robot to interact with and provide suitable experiences of diabetes management to children with very different social interaction styles.
-
(2016) : Control and Analysis of a Therapeutic Massage Robot: A Milestone of Human-Robot in Physical Contact In: VDE: Proceedings of ISR 2016: 47st International Symposium on Robotics: Berlin: VDE Verlag GmbH. Online verfügbar unter https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7559129/
Abstract: A therapeutic massage robot is developed and used to perform therapeutic massage. Impedance control in Cartesian spaces is properly designed to realize different massage techniques. To evaluate the feelings of relaxation for those subjects being massaged with more quantitative index, electrocardiography (ECG) of subjects is measured before and after massage manipulation. The features of heart rate variability (HRV), including mean HR, SDNN, RMSSD and pNN50, are extracted and analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of robotic massage. Comparison between robotic massage and massage by therapist is conducted in the experiments. According to the experimental results, mean HR decreases, whereas SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50 increase. HRV increased in both massage groups, showing the relaxation trend after robotic massage. The result gives a scientific clue that therapeutic massage is feasible to realize on a robotic massage robot.
-
(2016) : Context-aware Planning by Refinement for Personal Robots in Smart Homes In: VDE: Proceedings of ISR 2016: 47st International Symposium on Robotics: Berlin: VDE Verlag GmbH. Online verfügbar unter https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7559161/authors
Abstract: The idea of integrating robots and smart environments is becoming more popular. An important challenge for robotics and large advanced applications, such as Ambient Assisted Living, is to enable robots to seamlessly operate as part of smart spaces.They evolve in an unpredictable and highly dynamic environment where context information change quickly and where smart devices can join or leave it at anytime. In this situation, context-aware task planning is a key enabler. Actually, as the environment evolves, plans can become outdated, putting robots in blocking situations. Currently, few planners are able to consider smart spaces constraints during execution phase. In this paper, we propose a novel planning approach called DHTN (Dynamic HTN) based on HTN (Hierarchical Task Networks) planner. DHTN is able to generate and adapt the plan at execution and has the capability to smartly probe the environment by exclusively querying devices that provide useful data. Our approach was implemented and evaluated through simulation and a real life scenario using Nao robot in a smart office.
-
(2016): Socializing robots. Constructing robotic sociality in the design and use of the assistive robot PARO. In: AI & Society 31 (4), S. 537-551. DOI: 10.1007/s00146-015-0636-1
Abstract: The goal of introducing robots into everyday use has led to their reconceptualization as social technologies, for which interacting with people is a fundamental and necessary function. Robot sociality in this context is generally defined as a set of individual properties of the artifact, such as a human-like appearance or the ability to read social cues. In this paper, we propose an alternative view of robot sociality as an emergent relational property of the interactions between the robot and its social context, actively constructed by designers, users, and other actors affected by robots. We illustrate this perspective through the example of the robot PARO, a commercial social robot commonly used in eldercare, which we analyzed in a series of observational studies of the social processes of its design in the laboratory and its use in an eldercare facility. Our analysis shows how the robot as a social technology is constructed through the actions and sense making of various actors and the situated dynamics of interaction in particular institutional contexts. We first describe the social factors and rationale that influenced PARO's design in the laboratory, and then discuss how the robot is scaffolded by users in a nursing home in the midwestern United States. Our studies go beyond the typical focus on one-on-one interaction between people and robots as the unit of analysis of human-robot interaction, to incorporate the broader social context as a necessary component of the successful design and implementation of social robots in society.
Keywords: Design, Disziplin, Favoriten, Ingenieurswissenschaft, Interaktionspartner, Mensch oder Maschine, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Modelle/Theorien, Realtechnik, robot sociality depending on the robots social context, Serviceroboter, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Robotik, Technik, Wahrnehmung des Roboters im gesamten sozialen Umfeld -
(2016): Design and Evaluation of a Touch-Centered Calming Interaction with a Social Robot. In: IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing 7 (2), S. 108-121. DOI: 10.1109/TAFFC.2015.2457893
Abstract: With advances in sensor and actuator design, intelligent computing techniques and personal care robotics, today's robots hold promise as fully interactive, therapeutic human companions. To achieve this ambitious goal, key interaction components must be identified and then systematically designed and evaluated. Based on successes of human-animal therapy, we propose affective touch as one such component. Delivering this adjunct in a controllable robot form allows us to examine its efficacy for therapeutic applications such as anxiety management. With an approach grounded in social cognitive theories for human-animal relations, we deployed a social robot, the Haptic Creature, in an interaction designed to be calming: participants held the robot on their laps and stroked it as it was breathing. As a result, their heart and respiration rates significantly decreased relative to stroking a non-breathing robot. They also reported themselves as calmer and happier.
-
(2016): Accessible Robots for Improving Social Skills of Individuals with Autism. In: Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Soft Computing Research 6 (4). DOI: 10.1515/jaiscr-2016-0020
Abstract: This paper reports on an ongoing project between members of the computer science and special education departments of Bradley University and Murray State University, detailing the robotic platforms developed and investigated as a potential tool to improve social interactions among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Development of a fourth generation robotic agent is described, which uses economically available robotic platforms (Lego NXT) as Socially Assistive Robotics (SAR), combined with direct instruction pedagogy and social scripts to support an alternative educational approach to teaching social behavior. Specifically, in this fourth generation, changes to the physical design of the robots were made to improve the maintainability, reliability, maneuverability, and aesthetics of the robots. The software architecture was designed for modularity, configurability, and reusability of the software.
Keywords: Assitive technology, Autism, Autism spectrum disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Interaktion, interdisziplinär, Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Pathologie, Realtechnik, robot teacher, script, Serviceroboter, Social robotic, Social Skills, Socially Assistive Robotics (SAR), Soziale Robotik, Soziosensitive Systeme, teaching social behaviour, Technik, Telemanipulation, Telerobotics -
(2016): Service robots. System design for tracking people through data fusion and initiating interaction with the human group by inferring social situations. In: Robotics and Autonomous Systems 83, S. 188-202. DOI: 10.1016/j.robot.2016.05.004
Abstract: In a situation where a robot initiates conversation with a group of people, questions such as "where is the people group?" and "whether the robot should approach them?" should be addressed. This paper develops a new system that enables a robot to determine whether or not it should approach the aforementioned human group and interact with them after identifying what the current social situation is. The system is mainly to fuse depth-related data to track the positions of a group of people, extract social cues of those people by using depth-related data and a decision network (DN) model, and the main challenge lies in understanding the social cues of the group and the current underlying social situation concerning the relation between the robot and the group. The social cues are based on Proxemics and F-formations, whereas the social situations are categorized as individual-to-individual, individual-to-robot, robot-to-individual, group-to-robot, robot-to-group, confidential discussion and group discussion. Our system proceeds as follows : once a group of people are detected and the social cues of that target group of people are extracted, the corresponding social situation is appropriately inferred, and in turn the robot decides whether it should initiate conversation with the group based on rules to be specified later. The conducted experimental results demonstrate the properness of the system design and the efficacy of the proposed method in recognizing the social cues among individuals of the group as well as the nature of the social situations concerning the group and the robot.
Keywords: Design, Disziplin, Favoriten, F-Formationen, HMI depending on social cues, Ingenieurswissenschaft, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Modelle/Theorien, Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Proxemik, Realtechnik, Serviceroboter, Sozial Intelligente Agenten, Soziale Robotik, Status / biologische Marker, Technik -
(2016) : May I be your Personal Coach? Bringing Together Person Tracking and Visual Re-identification on a Mobile Robot In: VDE: Proceedings of ISR 2016: 47st International Symposium on Robotics: Berlin: VDE Verlag GmbH, S. 1-8. Online verfügbar unter https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7559109/
Abstract: Mobile robots following and guiding stroke patients during their rehabilitation program are in the focus of our research in rehabilitation robotics. To be able to act autonomously, it is crucial for the robot to extract long and precise movement trajectories of the patients. But already keeping track on one specific person in a crowded dynamic environment is inherently hard, since multi-sensor tracking as well as appearance-based re-identification are challenging tasks in realworld environments. Therefore, we aim for developing a coupled person tracking system that combines user tracking by spatial proximity with appearance-based user recognition. We analyzed all subcomponents of such a system and identified four essential parts, that significantly influence the overall performance. We show, that it is essential, to (1) accurately detect all persons in scene, (2) track people as long as no ambiguities occur, (3) visually re-identify the user otherwise, and (4) reduce the search space for re-identification to just relevant hypotheses using spatial proximity as criterion. In our experiments, we show, that by addressing all these aspects, our system significantly outperforms each approach, that excludes just one of these important parts.
2015
-
(2015) : Escaping from Children's Abuse of Social Robots In: Adams, Julie A.; Smart, William; Mutlu, Bilge; Takayama, Leila (Hg.): HRI'15: Proceedings of the 2015 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction: March 2-5, 2015, Portland, OR, USA: [New York]: ACM, Associaton for Computing Machinery, S. 59-66Keywords: Robovie, Serviceroboter
2014
-
(2014): Social behaviours in dog-owner interactions can serve as a model for designing social robots. In: Interaction Studies 15 (2), S. 143-172. DOI: 10.1075/is.15.2.01far
Abstract: It is essential for social robots to fit in the human society. In order to facilitate this process we propose to use the family dog's social behaviour shown towards humans as an inspiration. In this study we explored dogs' low level social monitoring in dog-human interactions and extracted individually consistent and context dependent behaviours in simple everyday social scenarios. We found that proximity seeking and tail wagging were most individually distinctive in dogs, while activity, orientation towards the owner, and exploration were dependent on the context and/or the activity of the owner. The functional analogues of these dog behaviours can be implemented in social robots of different embodiments in order to make them acceptable and more believable for humans. The paper presents an ethological perspective on designing robot behaviors for successful social interactions with humans. In particular, the types of behaviors that occur in interactions between dogs and their owners are analyzed to provide insights into how robot behaviors should be created. It is essential for social robots to fit in the human society. In order to facilitate this process we propose to use the family dog's social behaviour shown towards humans as an inspiration. In this study we explored dogs' low level social monitoring in dog-human interactions and extracted individually consistent and context dependent behaviours in simple everyday social scenarios. We found that proximity seeking and tail wagging were most individually distinctive in dogs, while activity, orientation towards the owner, and exploration were dependent on the context and/or the activity of the owner. The functional analogues of these dog behaviours can be implemented in social robots of different embodiments in order to make them acceptable and more believable for humans.
-
(2014): Generating Task-Oriented Interactions of Service Robots. In: IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems 44 (8), S. 981-994. DOI: 10.1109/TSMC.2014.2298214
Abstract: Human-robot interaction (HRI) may play a key role in enhancing a robot's capability in practical service tasks, allowing productive human-robot collaboration. To obtain appropriate human aid for conducting tasks, a robot should be capable of generating meaningful questions regarding the task procedures in real time and applying the results to modify its task plans or behaviors. However, few studies on integrating robot task management and HRI in such high-level task planning exist. In this paper, we propose a new scheme of script-based task planning and HRI that supports the planning and is generated by it. The planning operates on a set of plain and easily writable task procedures, or scripts. The approach produces robust, practical, and easy-to-manipulate robot behavior. Based on the scripts, the system identifies plan ambiguities that require interaction with humans, and resolves them using the human response. The interaction thus generated is highly relevant and task-oriented. The robot learns from the interaction history to improve its subsequent planning in general, or personalize it. Two simulation cases, of a home service and a museum-guide robot, are presented to show how the robots lead appropriate interaction and smoothly adjust their task plans to user commands or responses. Such close integration of HRI and robot task planning is expected to advance the practicality of service robots.
Keywords: ALIGNMENT, Communication, CONTROL ARCHITECTURE, Design, human-robot interaction, INTEGRATION, KNOWLEDGE, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), MIND, PROGRAMS, Realtechnik, Science and Technology Studies (STS), script, script-based task planning, service robot, Serviceroboter, Soziale Robotik, task-oriented interaction, Technik 2013
-
(2013) : Fantasy and Reality ?? Electric Motors within the Human Body In: VDE: Innovative Small Drives and Micro-Motor Systems; 9. GMM/ETG Symposium: Nuremberg, Germany: VDE, S. 1-5. Online verfügbar unter https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6624102/
Abstract: What arose from the realm of fantasy just a few decades ago is reality today thanks to available micro drives. Advances in the miniaturization of technical systems have made this possible. Today, micro motors are already routinely used by physicians for carrying out demanding examinations and treatments in the human body. The following article discusses the state of the art exemplified by two motorized cardiac catheters and a swallowable capsule which performs radiological examinations for early detection of colorectal cancer. The article is rounded off by considering the pros and cons of autonomous robots in the human body.
-
(2013): Design of a Parametric Model of Personal Space for Robotic Social Navigation. In: International Journal of Social Robotics 5 (3), S. 357-365. DOI: 10.1007/s12369-013-0188-9
Abstract: The design of socially acceptable behaviours is becoming one major issue for the development of robots that are able to interact with humans in unconstrained environments. In particular, social behaviours such as gazing, mutual positioning or gesturing allow robots to initiate and maintain an information exchange with humans. This paper focuses on (1) the study of mutual positioning between a small humanoid robot and a person through two psychometric experiments and (2) the design of a parametric model of the personal space based on the results of the two experiments. Results suggest that human-human interpersonal distances are shorter than human-robot interpersonal distances during a communication exchange, at least for the small humanoid robot used in our experiments. We also found that participants evaluate different directions of approach in a significantly different way.
Keywords: Design, Disziplin, doppelter Treffer, Favoriten, Ingenieurswissenschaft, Interaktionspartner, Mensch oder Maschine, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Observablen/Kriterien für sozial angemessenes Verhalten und dessen Bewertung, Physische Größe eines Roboters (im Vergleich zum Menschen), Proxemik, Realtechnik, Serviceroboter, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Robotik, Technik, Volltreffer 2012
-
(2012): Service robots in the mirror of reflective research. In: Poiesis & Praxis: International Journal of Ethics of Science and Technology Assessment 9 (3-4), S. 181-200. DOI: 10.1007/s10202-012-0111-8
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23226994 Abstract: Service robotics has increasingly become the focus of reflective research on new technologies over the last decade. The current state of technology is characterized by prototypical robot systems developed for specific application scenarios outside factories. This has enabled context-based Science and Technology Studies and technology assessments of service robotic systems. This contribution describes the status quo of this reflective research as the starting point for interdisciplinary technology assessment (TA), taking account of TA studies and, in particular, of publications from the ethical and empirical social science perspective. Finally, based on this status quo, evaluation criteria for service robots are developed, which are relevant for further reflective research.
-
(2012): Service robots on their way? First steps of an interdisciplinary technology assessment. In: Poiesis & Praxis: International Journal of Ethics of Science and Technology Assessment 9 (3-4), S. 177-180. DOI: 10.1007/s10202-012-0112-7
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23226993 Abstract: Therefore, framing the problems and developing research questions out of it becomes the key for any interdisciplinary project (Decker 2001). For the interdisciplinary TA project on service robotics, to which the papers of this focus contribute, the problem setting and the identification of the relevant disciplines were described elsewhere (Decker et al. 2011; Decker 2012). Since the project aims for a TA of service robotics on a general level (even though referring to case studies for illustration), the relevant disciplines include economics, ethics, jurisprudence and psychology of work. While the first three are traditionally part of an interdisciplinary TA, the latter one is crucial in the context of replacing human beings in their service work environments.
-
(2012): Effects of etiquette strategy on human–robot interaction in a simulated medicine delivery task. In: Intelligent Service Robotics 5 (3), S. 199-210. DOI: 10.1007/s11370-012-0113-3
Abstract: The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which a model of linguistic etiquette in human–human interaction could be applied to human–robot interaction (HRI) domain, and how different etiquette strategies proposed through the model might influence performance of humans and robots as mediated by manipulations of robot physical features, in a simulated medicine delivery task. A “wizard of Oz” experiment was conducted in which either a humanoid robot or a mechanical-looking robot was used to present medicine reminding utterances (following different etiquette strategies) to participants, who were engaged in a primary cognitive task (a Sudoku puzzle). Results revealed the etiquette model to partially extend to the HRI domain. Participants were not sensitive to positive language from robots (e.g., appreciation of human values/wants) and such a strategy did not succeed in supporting or enhancing the “positive face” of human users. Both “bald” (no linguistic courtesy) and mixed strategies (positive and “negative face” (minimizing user imposition) saving) resulted in moderate user perceived etiquette scores (PE). However, individual differences suggested such robot linguistic strategies should be applied with caution. Opposite to this, a negative face saving strategy (supporting user freedom of choice) promoted user task and robot performance (in terms of user response time to robot requests), and resulted in the highest PE score. There was also evidence that humanoid robot features provide additional social cues that may be used by patients and support human and robot performance, but not PE. These results provide a basis for determining appropriate etiquette strategies and robot appearance to promote better collaborative task performances for future health care delivery applications of service robots.
Keywords: Anerkennung von Werten/Bedürfnissen, appropriate social interaction, Disziplin, doppelter Treffer, Etikette, Face, Face-Saving, Favoriten, Höflichkeit, Höflichkeitsforschung, Human-robot etiquette, Ingenieurswissenschaft, Interaktionspartner, Linguistik, Medicine delivery, Medizin, Mensch oder Maschine, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Mensch-Technische Systeme, Negative face saving, Patient compliance, Patient-robot interaction, Realtechnik, Serviceroboter, Soziale Angemessenheit, Soziale Robotik, Technik, Technikbezug, Volltreffer, Wahlfreiheit (eines Nutzers/Interaktionspartners), Wertendes Sprachverhalten