Human-Robot Interaction

While working on our first Human-Robot Interaction textbook, we noticed that almost all the robots mentioned in the book had failed in the market. Our book had become an obituary. I talked with Lundy Lewis, Frederic Kaplan, Amro Najjar, Robert Cheek and Tomas Concha (NTT Disruption) about why almost all social robots failed in the market. The Aibo and Jibo robots are examples of robots that were brought to the market, failed and were resurrected from the dead. One in fame and one in shame.

Transcript

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

HRI-Podcast-Episode-015-Why-Do-All-Social-Robots-Fail-In-The-Market-Transcript

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Important Links:

* Human-Robot Interaction – An Introduction Book* Jibo introduction video* Great Expectations & Aborted Business Initiatives: The Paradox of Social Robot Between Research and Industry* Our Manifesto – NTT Disruption* Jibo Review by Linus Tech Tips

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Alan Turing devised the Imitation Game as a test the intelligence of machines. This test is also used in human-robot interaction. But what happens if not a computer is trying to convince you that it is a human, but a human is trying to deceive you in thinking he is an artificial intelligence? In this episode we will discuss the Turing Test, the Zach super computer and what it means to think. I interviewed Diane Proudfoot and David Farrier about the Terrible Foundation, Turing Test and Artificial Intelligence.

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

HRI-Podcast-Episode-014-Artificial-Artificial-Intelligence-Transcript

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Important Links:

* Statement on the Terrible New Zealand Charitable Trust by the independent Charities Registration Board* Charities Register of the Terrible New Zealand Charitable Trust* The Spinoff Coverage of Zach, Albi Whale and David Whale* The mystery of Zach, New Zealand’s all-too-miraculous medical AI* The mystery of Zach the miracle AI, continued: it all just gets Terribler* RIP Zach: Damning ruling finds ‘serious wrongdoing’ by miracle medical AI pair

Humans have asked themselves since the beginning of time “What is good”? While we have some consensus and even laws, teaching a robot to act ethically remains a delicate problem. It certainly requires more than three laws. How can a robot know what to do while operating in an uncertain world? I interviewed Sean Welsh on Ethics in Human-Robot Interaction.

Transcript

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

HRI-Podcast-Episode-013-The-Good-Robot-Transcript

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Links:

* Ethics in Robotics and AI (English Version To Come)* The Good Place (TV Show)* The Trolley Problem* Ethics and Security Automata: Policy and Technical Challenges of the Robotic Use of Force by Sean Welsh

The Advanced Telecommunication Institute International (ATR) in Japan is a major player in the field of human-robot interaction. Its early history was described by many who worked there as a paradise. After many changes to its funding and subsequently to its organization it remains a pretty strong research organization, but it is only a shadow of its early glory. Many researchers left this highly volatile and competitive environment. In this episode of the Human-Robot Interaction Podcast we will try to understand what the changes of a research organization means for its employees. I interview Takayuki Kanda, Michita Imai and Dylan F. Glas about their work at ATR and their lives afterwards.

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Links:

* “Weird Shape” Information and Communication Support ATR Basic Research for Blooming Flowers | Article in Nikkei Newspaper* About the investment business in the 12th Basic Technology Research Promotion Center | Report of Board of Audit Japan* ATR’s history cheat sheet.

The Advanced Telecommunication Research Institute International in Japan is a major contributor to Human-Robot Interaction. I interview Takayuki Kanda, Michita Imai and Dylan F. Glas about their work on robots at ATR. How was Robovie developed and what is the goal of the Erika android? In two episodes we will have a closer look at the people working at ATR and the robots they created. We will also discuss what it means to work for a research lab like ATR in Japan.

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Supporter:

Furhat is a social robot that communicates with us humans as we do with each other – by speaking, listening, showing emotions and maintaining eye contact. Build interactions and experiences unlike any other with the world’s most advanced social robotics platform. Follow the link in the description to find out more about the Furhat Robotics.

Links:

* ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories* Hiroshi Ishiguro Lab

Publishing scientific papers and books is a difficult task. The arrival of the internet has the potential to dramatically change the business models, but also the review and publishing process. I discussed the changing world of publishing with Anton Angelo, Data Librarian at the University of Canterbury. We discussed Open Access, Print-on-Demand and the changing roles of libraries. We even spotted some dangerous predators in the publishing jungle. And in case of any trouble, always ask you librarian!

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* Legal Deposit of the National Library of New Zealand* IngramSpark – print on demand publisher* Science Citation Index* Centering our values: Open Access for Aotearoa* Plan S – Making full and immediate Open Access a reality, European Commission* Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Open Access Policy* NSF’s public access policy* Sci-Hub, all scientific articles for free* ArXiv, pre-print platform* ResearchGate – social network for scientists* Nonsense paper written by iOS autocomplete accepted for conference* Omics Group Lawsuit* Open Journal System – free software to run a journal* Scholastica – journal management platform* Ubiquity Partner Network – independent university and society presses

Conventional Journals for HRI:

* International Journal of Social Robotics – Springer* Interaction Studies – John Benjamins* Science Robotics – AAAS* ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction – ACM

Open Access Journals for HRI:

* Paladyn – Journal of Behavioral Robotics

Problematic Open Access Journals for HRI:

* Journal of Robotics – Hindawi* Lovotics – Omics* Advances in Robotics & Automation – Omics (now Hilaris)* Robotics – MDPI* Journal of Future Robot Life – IOS Press* Transactions on Leading-edge Synergistic Robots – PubPub

It is not a question if sex robots will become available but only when. Many companies are working on their development with moderate success. While empirical research on the topic is rare, the ethical implications of sex robots have been discussed passionately. Some want to ban them before they even enter the market while others defend the rights of people to own sex toys. For this episode I interviewed David Levy, Robert Sparrow and Eleanor Hancock.

Important links:

* Intimate relationships with artificial partners by David Levy* Robots, rape, and representation by Robert Sparrow* Campaign against sex robots* Interacting with Anatomically Complete Robots by Christoph Bartneck and Matthew McMullen

If these are not enough publicity buzz words, then I do not know what is. In this episode we will look at the epic events around the Advances in Computer Entertainment (ACE 2018) conference and the associated Love And Sex With Robots Congress. The conferences had to be cancelled following a backlash from academics around the conferences’ organisation and in particular in response to the invitation of Steve Bannon as a keynote speaker to the ACE conference. I interviewed Adrian Cheok, David Levy and Yorim Chisik about the drama that unfolded last year. Adrian is now running for office in the Australian elections for the right wing Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party.

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Important links:

* The ACE2018 conference website (from the Internet Archive)* Statement by Yoram Chisik Regarding ACE 2018* Love And Sex With Robots 2018* Wired reported on the events* Adrian Cheok’s full CV* Omics Journals (Lovotics, Advances in Robotics & Automation)* Adrian Cheok is running in the Australian elections

Completing a PhD is a major accomplishment but it is only the start of an academic career. A study by The Royal Society found that only 3.5% of students that complete a PhD secure a permanent research position at a university. Of those lucky few, only 12% (or 0.45% of the total) make it to professor level. Those lucky few that make it must surely have some wisdom to share. I asked academics in HRI what advice they would give their younger selves. While talking to Rob Sparrow, Alan Wagner, Mari Velonaki, Guy Hoffman, Kimmo Vanni, Amit Kumar Pandey, and Franziska Kirstein about their careers certain patterns emerged. Perseverance, focus, patience and luck are amongst the factors that influenced their academic careers.

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Relevant links:

* The Scientific Century – securing our future prosperity* The Ideal Order

Many disciplines contribute to the success of human-robot interaction. Computer scientists and psychologist are amongst the most frequent contributors, but their contributions are not necessarily the most interesting ones. Today we are going to discuss what and how art can contribute to human-robot interaction. Robots have been used in the theater, exhibitions, comics and music, to name just a few. Getting them into the limelight does take various skills. Team work is often a challenge, but collaborating across disciplines adds a layer of complexity to the dynamics. I talked with Mari Velonaki, Guy Hoffman, and David St-Onge about art and its relationship to HRI.

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Relevant links:

* Shimon, the robotic marimba player* Fish-Bird Robotic Installation