Project on People and Robots: Carnegie Mellon University

Robots that work with and for people must be designed for a social world. Our research seeks to promote positive interaction of people and robots, aid robotic technology development, and advance dialogue on social issues surrounding deployment of life-like robots in work and home settings.

What is a robot?
Some are machines that do tasks in factories and hospitals. Some are life-like toys. Some are digital images on the screen. In the future, autonomous, mobile robots will assist people in many environments. Robots could help the elderly and caretakers, assist with work around the home, act as guards, and perform tasks that are repetitive, boring, or dangerous in nursing homes, hospitals, military environments, disaster sites, and schools.

Read the overview article [PDF 64K] on human-robot interaction from the June 2004 HCI Journal Special Issue on Human Robot Interaction.

Research Goals
Because they are designed for a social world, service robots must carry out functional as well as non-functional (social) tasks. Much of the research in robotics has focused on the development of technology. We lack a principled understanding of how to design robots that will accomplish social goals. We need to understand how to match the technology to the needs of people, organizations, and society.

Our research is directed at three little-understood aspects of service robots in society:

The design and behavior of service robots
The ways that humans and robots interact
How service robots function as members of a work team

Domains
The initial domain for this work is elder communities and hospitals, where service robots can do useful but taxing tasks. The research aims at the design of appropriate appearance and interactions of service robots in these contexts. Additionally, we believe that these studies will inform other robotic design work.





	Robots that work with and for people must be designed for a social world. Our research seeks to promote positive interaction of people and robots, aid robotic technology development, and advance dialogue on social issues surrounding deployment of life-like robots in work and home settings. What is a robot? Some are machines that do tasks in factories and hospitals. Some are life-like toys. Some are digital images on the screen. In the future, autonomous, mobile robots will assist people in many environments. Robots could help the elderly and caretakers, assist with work around the home, act as guards, and perform tasks that are repetitive, boring, or dangerous in nursing homes, hospitals, military environments, disaster sites, and schools. Read the overview article [PDF 64K] on human-robot interaction from the June 2004 HCI Journal Special Issue on Human Robot Interaction. Research Goals Because they are designed for a social world, service robots must carry out functional as well as non-functional (social) tasks. Much of the research in robotics has focused on the development of technology. We lack a principled understanding of how to design robots that will accomplish social goals. We need to understand how to match the technology to the needs of people, organizations, and society. Our research is directed at three little-understood aspects of service robots in society: The design and behavior of service robots The ways that humans and robots interact How service robots function as members of a work team Domains The initial domain for this work is elder communities and hospitals, where service robots can do useful but taxing tasks. The research aims at the design of appropriate appearance and interactions of service robots in these contexts. Additionally, we believe that these studies will inform other robotic design work.
	This work is supported by NSF-ITR #0121426, Cognitive and Social Design of Assistive Robots; Collaborative Research: DHB: Human Dynamics of Robot-Supported Collaborative Work NSF 0624275 (CMU) , NSF-0624283 (Stanford); and CRI: IAD Laboratory for Research in Human-Robot Interaction NSF 0709077. Copyright 2004-2008 Carnegie Mellon University.