Companion robots: Start of something big?

During the first ever Collaborative Robots Workshop held during the recent AIA Vision Show in Boston, the idea of getting people acclimated to the idea of working with and being around robots was a hot topic.

Specifically, both Chris Jones, Director, Strategic Technology, iRobot Corporation and Craig Schlenoff, Cognition and Collaboration Group Leader, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) suggested that “Human acceptance” in relation to robots is an area to keep an eye on as more and more robots continue to be developed and introduced to the world.

One such robot mentioned during Jones’ “Future of Collaborative Robots” presentation was the home assistance robot. Coincidentally, a new study out of Penn State indicates that older adults fear that these companion robots—which provide emotional support and interact with users as they go about their day—will negatively impact young people.

The study shows that older adults, who they themselves said they would be hesitant to use the devices, think that young people might become too dependent on robots. T. Franklin Waddell, a doctoral candidate in mass communications, refers to this type of effect as the “third person” effect.

"We've seen this type of effect, which is usually referred to as a third-person effect, with different types of media, such as video games and television, but this is the first time we have seen the effect in robotics," said Waddell in a PSU press release. "According to a third person effect, a person says they are not as negatively affected by the media as other people."

Pictured:Mobiserv companion robot

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