Human-Robot Interaction

By Christoph BartneckSociety & Culture Science Social Sciences Technology

Human-Robot Interaction episodes

September 21, 2023The HRI Journal Publishing Guide
Publishing your human-robot interaction study in a journal is an excellent way to share your insights. But in which journal should you publish and what do the journals expect? In this episode, we talk to editors from the three dedicated HRI journals, Agnieszka Wykowska (International Journal of Social Robotics), Selma Sabanovic (ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction) and Bilge Mutlu (Frontiers in Robotics and AI | Human-Robot Interaction). We talk about Open Access publishing and what the future of scientific publishing might look like. Besides the three dedicated journals, there are also some journals that encourage HRI topics without focusing completely on them. I talked with Kerstin Dautenhahn from the Interaction Studies journal and Ramanarayan Vasudevan from the IEEE Transactions on Robotics.
Transcript
The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.
HRI-Podcast-Episode-025-The-HRI-Journal-Publishing-Guide
Here is a table with all the key indicators for the journals. The full table is available online.
NameIEEE TROIJO Social RoboticsInteraction StudiesFrontiers in Robotics and AI HRIACM THRI
PublisherIEEESpringerJohn BenjaminsFrontiersACM
Founded in19852009200420182012
Acceptance rate20364867
Average papers are published per year183113222252
Average number of revisions for accepted papers2.5222
Average number of reviewers per submitted paper322.533
Number of associate editors7253271144
Average duration of peer review9023125123107
Peer review typeSingle blindSingle blindSingle blindSingle blindSingle blind
Average duration publishing process60310147270
Listed in ScopusYesYesYesYesYes
Publications quartile in Scopusnot availableQ1Q1Q2not available
CiteScore12.76.93.74.95.3
Listed on Web of ScienceYesYesYesYesNo
Impact Factor7.84.71.53.45.1
Ppen access optionYes (optional)Yes (optional)Yes (optional)Yes (required)Yes (required)
Article Publication Fee2345369019272125$0 required, $1300 optional
Pre-publication allowedYesYesYesYesYes
ISSN 2703-4054
Important Links:
Flaky Conferences and Journals in Human-Robot Interaction
49 min
November 01, 2022Aldebaran Again
Softbank Robotics sold their Nao and Pepper robots to the United Robotics Group (URG) which reversed the name of this business back to its orginal “Aldebaran”. In this episode Dwain Allan and I discuss the uncertain future of Nao and Pepper based on direct correspondence with URG. We try to answer the question whether you should still invest in this robotic platform. Is Aldebaran another zombie robotic company?
Transcript
The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF.
HRI-Podcast-Episode-024-Aldebaran-Again-Transcript
ISSN 2703-4054
Important Links
Cobiotx at URG
SoftBank shrinks robotics business, stops Pepper production
Repair of broken Nao robot battery pack
32 min
September 28, 2022Zombies
Are robots zombies? This might seem like a strange question at first, but it leads to one of the most important questions in science today: what is consciousness and can robot’s become conscious? These questions fascinate many people. And when Blake Lemoine suggested that Google’s latest AI Lambda had become sentient, it triggered a worldwide media frenzy. In this HRI podcast episode, I talk with Professor Jack Copeland about machine consciousness.
Transcript
The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.
HRI-Podcast-Episode-023-Zombies-Transcript
ISSN 2703-4054
Important Links
Is LaMDA Sentient? — an Interview
Artificial Intelligence: A Philosophical Introduction by Jack Copeland
47 min
August 19, 2022Autonomous Vehicles – Do We Really Know The Risks?
Autonomous Vehicles (AV) are the riskiest form of human-robot interaction. One the one hand they offer unparalleled improvements to the safety and comfort of drivers, passengers and other traffic participants. They also promise to reduce emission. On the other hand, they demand new considerations for trust and responsibilities in human-robot interaction. The field of tension between autonomy, trust and liability can only be manoeuvred on the basis of objective data. Government agencies will have to implement clear obligations and standards for reporting the performances of AVs. This is the only way for consumers to make informed decisions about their purchases and the associated risks. In this podcast episode we will critically review the available data, the market situation and the recent developments.
Transcript
The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript. A full paper with references is available.
HRI-Podcast-Episode-022-Autonomous-Vehicles-Do-We-Really-Know-The-Risks
ISSN 2703-4054
Important Links
Tesla Deaths
San Francisco Police Pull Over Driverless Car
We Drove a Tesla with No One in the Driver’s Seat. That’s Not a Good Thing
50 min
June 30, 2022Emotions And Consciousness In Robots
In the last HRI podcast episode we talked about the role of emotions for humans and robots. The interview with Douglas Campbell truly inspired me and there was not enough time in the last episode to go into the full depth of our conversation. So here it is, our full discussion about emotions and consciousness in robots.
Transcript
The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.
HRI-Podcast-Episode-021-Emotions-And-Consciousness-In-Robots-Transcript
ISSN 2703-4054
Important Links
Problems of Philosophy – The Limits of Inquiry by C.McGinn
Other Minds by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Artificial consciousness by Wikipedia
37 min
May 31, 2022The Sad Robot
What roles do emotions, affect and moods play for humans and robots? We will discuss how robots can sense, reason and express emotions. Furthermore, we talk about if emotions make robots more human. I had the pleasure to talk with Rosalind Picard (MIT), Lola Canamero (CY Cergy Paris University), Hiroshi Ishiguro (Osaka University) and Douglas Campbell (University of Canterbury) about these exciting questions.
Transcript
The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.
HRI-Podcast-Episode-020-The-Sad-Robot-Transcript
ISSN 2703-4054
Important Links
Facial Action Coding System – Paul Ekman Group
Affective Computing by Rosalind Picard
Geminoid Robots
1 hr 22 min
May 09, 2022The Story Of Boston Dynamics
Boston Dynamics is the rock star of robotics. It recently featured in a beer commercial during the Super Bowl. How did a company that started as a military contractor become a novelty in beer commercials? Dwain Allan and Christoph Bartneck discuss the past, present and future of the company with Robert Cheek and Stephen Hickson.
Transcript
The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.
HRI-Podcast-Episode-019-The-Story-Of-Boston-Dynamics-Transcript
ISSN 2703-4054
Important Links
CNBC documentary about Boston Dynamics
The petman and atlas robots at Boston dynamics by Gabe Nelson, Aaron Saunders, and Robert Playter
XPeng’s rideable robotic unicorn
Kawasaki’s rideable robotic goat
Tesla’s presentation of the Optimus humanoid robot
51 min
July 01, 2021 The Science Beyond the Horizon
Predatory conferences have become a global problem that plagues the scientific community. The Science Horizon Conferences claims to organize ten conference in 2022 in Europe, including the International Conference and Expo on Robotics & Artificial Intelligence. In this podcast episode I investigate this conference and its organizers Shaik Riyaz and Devasai Udarapu. My nonsensical abstract submission passed their peer review process and was accepted for a keynote presentation. I confronted Devasai with this complete lack of academic rigor in an interview. Anton Angelo and David Kaye share their view on this conference, predatory conferences in general and what impact they have on the scientific endeavor.
59 min
February 18, 2021 The Laws Of Robotics

In our previous podcast episode The Good Robot we discussed the difficulty of enabling robots to act ethically. When talking to journalists or policy makers about machine ethics you frequently get the response, well, Issac Asimov already solved that problem with his three laws of robotics. These laws are so seductively simple that most will intuitively understand them. In this episode of the Human-Robot Interaction podcast, Sean Welsh and I will have a close look at these laws and try to understand why barely anybody has ever tried to use them in their robot.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-017-The-Laws-Of-Robotics-Transcript

ISSN 2703-4054

Important Links:

* AI Armageddon and the Three Laws of Robotics by Lee McCauley* Why the three laws of robotics do not work by Chris Stokes* The Unacceptability of Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics as a Basis for Machine Ethics by Susan Leigh Anderson

39 min
December 17, 2020 There is method to the madness

The success of Human Robot Interaction depends on utilizing our understanding of the interaction between humans and robots in the development of new technology. These new technologies then need to be rigorously tested to proof their benefit. In other words, it is time for an HRI study. In this episode we will discuss some of the major decision you need to make when designing a study with Tony Belpaeme who recently published a book chapter entitled “Advice to new human-robot interaction researchers”. Choose wisely, for while the true study will bring you knowledge, the false study will take it from you.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-016-There-Is-Method-To-The-Madness-Transcript

ISSN 2703-4054

Important Links:

* Advice to new human-robot interaction researchers* The all in publication policy* As predicted pre-registration* Social Psychology and Human-Robot Interaction: An Uneasy Marriage
55 min