Human-Robot Interaction in Social Robotics

Human–Robot Interaction in Social Robotics explores important issues in designing a robot system that works with people in everyday environments. Edited by leading figures in the field of social robotics, it draws on contributions by researchers working on the Robovie project at the ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, a world leader in humanoid interactive robotics. The book brings together, in one volume, technical and empirical research that was previously scattered throughout the literature.

Taking a networked robot approach, the book examines how robots work in cooperation with ubiquitous sensors and people over telecommunication networks. It considers the use of social robots in daily life, grounding the work in field studies conducted at a school, train station, shopping mall, and science museum. Critical in the development of network robots, these usability studies allow researchers to discover real issues that need to be solved and to understand what kinds of services are possible.

The book tackles key areas where development is needed, namely, in sensor networks for tracking humans and robots, humanoids that can work in everyday environments, and functions for interacting with people. It introduces a sensor network developed by the authors and discusses innovations in the Robovie humanoid, including several interactive behaviors and design policies.

Exploring how humans interact with robots in daily life settings, this book offers valuable insight into how robots may be used in the future. The combination of engineering, empirical, and field studies provides readers with rich information to guide in developing practical interactive robots.

Takayuki Kanda is currently a senior researcher at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan. His current research interests include intelligent robotics, human–robot interaction, and vision-based mobile robots. Dr. Kanda was named to serve as a steering committee co-chair of the ACM/IEEE international conference of human–robot interaction from 2010 to 2013.

Hiroshi Ishiguro has been a visiting researcher at ATR Media Information Science Laboratories since 1999, where he has developed the interactive humanoid robot, Robovie. He is also a professor in the Department of Systems Innovation, Osaka University, and a group leader at ATR Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory. In 2010, he served as a general co-chair of the ACM/IEEE international conference of human–robot interaction.