While participants gather clues and engage in conversations with the robots, the scientists are investigating how people experience this technology in the busy, social, and sometimes chaotic environment of a music festival.
What makes a robot “human”? Does a talking machine feel like a helpful assistant, or rather like something awkward and distant? These are questions that communication scientists from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam hope to answer this summer at Lowlands through their ClueBots research.
The research comes at a time when social robots are rapidly gaining ground. Thanks to new developments in artificial intelligence, robots are becoming increasingly adept at holding conversations and supporting people. This offers opportunities for sectors struggling with labor shortages, such as healthcare and education. Think of robots that keep the elderly company, assist patients, or support students in their learning.
But before such applications can be widely deployed, researchers need to understand how people react to robots. “To be able to deploy social robots in education and healthcare, it’s important that people can build a relationship with such robots,” say the researchers from the ROBOT-BOND team. That’s why ClueBots focuses not only on what robots can do, but especially on how people experience such interactions with a robot.
‘Human-like’ robot
An important part of the research is the question of what makes a robot“human-like.” It is often thought that interacting with a robot is more pleasant the more it resembles a human. At the same time, there is the well-known phenomenon of the “uncanny valley”: robots that look just a little too human can actually evoke an uncomfortable or even creepy feeling.
The researchers suspect, however, that a robot’s appearance is less important than is often assumed. The sense of humanity may lie primarily in a robot’s behavior: how it speaks, reacts, and evokes emotions. Personal differences among people likely play a role as well. What one visitor finds pleasant may feel strange to another.
Lowlands provides an ideal testing environment with more chaotic conditions than those found in lab studies with students. Moreover, thousands of people of varying ages, backgrounds, and experiences come together, allowing reactions to the robots to be studied across a much wider range of individuals. This provides a more realistic picture of how society as a whole views social robots.
Broader Use of AI-
The results can contribute to the development of robots that better meet users’ needs. This is important now that the use of artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming part of everyday services. By better understanding which characteristics promote comfort and engagement, future robots can be deployed more effectively in society.
In addition to scientific insights, the researchers hope that ClueBots will contribute to the public debate and provide information, so that public perception is no longer shaped by science fiction. At Lowlands, visitors can now experience what the new reality with social robots might look like. It is also important that the robots use locally running language models and voice recognition, comply with ethical guidelines, and that participants’ privacy remains protected.
The collected data will be used for the ROBOT-BOND research project, which investigates how and when people can form an emotional bond with social robots. The insights gained from this research can help in the responsible design of robots that will play a supportive role in daily life in the future.
With ClueBots , a scavenger hunt at a festival grounds turns into a glimpse into a future where people and robots are increasingly working together.