The article describes possible classifications of social robots, where the main parameters clearly indicate the functional capabilities of robots, their scope of application and role characteristics in interaction with humans.
Keywords: social robots, robotics and automation, human robot interaction.
Social robotics is one of the relevant interdisciplinary areas. The development of social robotic platforms requires joint efforts of specialists from various fields, including the humanities, to solve socio-cultural problems. For effective interdisciplinary cooperation, it is necessary to develop a unified terminology, since the content of the term «social robot» requires theoretical understanding and a clearer definition. The goal is to provide an overview of the main approaches to the content of the concept of «social robot», to identify the defining characteristics of a social robot in the modern context of social robotics. The article analyzes various approaches to defining the concept of «social robot» and the history of the term's formation. A social robot fits into the existing classification of types of interaction with a person as an autonomous social partner.
The term was coined by the Czech artist Josef Čapek. He proposed calling the artificial workers described by his brother, the writer Karel Čapek, in his novel Rossum's Universal Robots — Rossumovi univerzální roboti (R. U. R.). In the 1980s, service robots appeared, and technologies for interaction between robots and humans were needed. After several decades, robots not only received a certain interface, but also mastered socio-cultural norms. Social robots are devices that help people interact comfortably with society. They satisfy a person's need for communication and involve them in the life of society. Such a robot can go to the store to buy groceries, keep company in a conversation, meet or see off guests, and much more. In addition, there is a distinction between the concept of “social robots for rehabilitation”, which are elements of social robotics designed to help and involve elderly or disabled people in social life (communication, study or work). Early generations of robots were designed for autonomous tasks, such as exploring the ocean floor, assisting in manufacturing processes, or fulfilling warehouse orders. Over the past 20 years, researchers have developed more general-purpose robots that model human behavior. Types of social robots on picture 1.
Fig. 1. Types of social robots
The main tasks that modern social robots perform are:
– tutoring: provide an interactive way to study material and help to master new skills;
– telepresence: provide remote participants with a physical presence at a business meeting;
– communication: provide emotional support to young, elderly or disabled people;
– customer engagement: provide potential customers with information about products and services, store opening hours and prices;
– medical care and rehabilitation.
Technological developments make communication with robots more natural — you can contact them through eye contact and conversation. With the help of sensors and algorithms, devices respond faster to the user's actions and behavior, adapt to external conditions. Such improvements have increased interest in socially assistive robotics — this is a direction that covers developments in the field of human-robot interaction. Here, the emphasis is on creating intelligent devices that will provide personalized assistance to people. The use of robotics has had a positive impact on the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Researchers at the University of Southern California have developed educational robots for children with autism. The green robot parrot Kiwi helped 17 children aged three to six years to learn and improve their social skills for a month. During the sessions, the children played math games on a tablet, and the robot gave instructions and feedback. At the end of the month, 100 % of the participants demonstrated improved math skills, and 92 % improved social skills. The effectiveness of such methods has been confirmed by studies [1].
Children with autism have difficulty interacting with other people. They find it difficult to concentrate on a lesson with a teacher, as they are constantly distracted by the intonation of the voice, facial expressions, and gestures. Therefore, scientists began to look for a solution to the problem in order to reduce the discomfort of such special children. They created a robot-mediator that helps to mitigate the negative consequences of direct communication between an adult and a child. 15 children aged 4 to 14 years took part in testing the QTrobot robot. As a result of the study, the children looked at the robot 2 times more and were 3 times less worried. Another popular robot is Bandit, which teaches social behavior to children with autism. It can be purchased for $1,000. The humanoid robot Kaspar, created at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, helps children with mental trauma and autism learn the basics of communication. The robot speaks and sings, imitates eating food, combs hair and demonstrates other everyday skills. Japanese corporation SoftBank Robotics has created an anthropomorphic robot Pepper. He can explain new material, help with homework and check knowledge. However, this is only part of the functionality of the device — depending on the user's goals, the robot can be a nurse, a guard or a personal assistant [2].
A robot teacher is suitable not only for individual education, but also for joint learning — in a class or group. It improves communication skills and encourages cooperation with other students. Educational robots maintain a positive-neutral tone of communication — they do not judge or ridicule for mistakes, do not get tired of repeating information, ask auxiliary questions at the student's level and motivate new achievements.
According to the UN, the world's population is aging — the birth rate is falling, and there are more elderly people. WHO predicts an increase in the number of people aged 60 and over by 2050 to 2.1 billion people — this is 2 times more than now. The increase in the number of elderly people leads to economic and social problems. Such as an increase in the retirement age, an overload of medical systems and a decrease in labor productivity — after all, some people will not be able to work due to health reasons, and some will take care of the disabled population. Companion robots partially solve this problem — with them, grandparents will be able to overcome age-related difficulties without the physical presence of other people. An artificial companion will help you do exercises, remind you to take medications in time, and in the event of an emergency, call the emergency services and call your loved ones. A social robot for lonely and elderly people was created by the Japanese company NEC Corporation. The device improves the emotional background and helps to control the physical condition without personal presence. It reminds you to take medications on time, pay bills, and can play board games. A person living alone does not feel lonely due to constant contact with society. The development reduces the cost of caregivers and makes it possible not to leave the house unless necessary [3].
Robots help to avoid loneliness. If it is not possible to fully communicate with other people, a social robot can represent a person at a business or personal meeting. This effect is called telepresence. In the Japanese city of Kobe, mobile social robots help people who are isolated and limited in movement communicate with the world around them. The OriHime robot acts as a human avatar. The device is delivered to the place where the user would like to be physically — to the office, school or to friends. A built-in camera and speakers broadcast the environment, and the person sees and hears what is happening around. OriHime can gesture and talk — users enter commands in a smartphone or computer application. Thanks to telepresence, people can actively participate in the life of society, broadcast emotions and thoughts [2].
Robots are used to solve a variety of problems in the healthcare sector. They conduct laboratory tests, decipher records, and assist medical personnel. The devices cannot get sick, so they can be used to disinfect rooms and work with infectious patients. Thanks to social robots, a person can communicate with the world regardless of his age, physical and mental health.
The emerging new direction of social robotics requires a unified terminology, as well as clarity and precision of the concepts used, but in the works of the last ten years, researchers and developers have introduced different meanings into the basic terms. In this article, we have considered the existing approaches to defining the central concept of a social robot. In our opinion, the concept of a social robot can be identified with a social interface that includes all the characteristics that allow the user to attribute social properties to the robot.
References:
1. Cabibihan J. J. et al. Why robots? A survey on the roles and benefits of social robots in the therapy of children with autism //International journal of social robotics. — 2013. — Т. 5. — С. 593–618.
2. Hegel F. et al. Understanding social robots //2009 Second International Conferences on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions. — IEEE, 2009. — С. 169–174.
3. Breazeal C., Dautenhahn K., Kanda T. Social robotics //Springer handbook of robotics. — 2016. — С. 1935–1972.
