In Emergencies, Should You Trust a Robot?

In Emergencies, Should You Trust a Robot?

In emergencies, people may trust robots too much for their own safety, a new study suggests. In a mock building fire, test subjects followed instructions from an “Emergency Guide Robot” even after the machine had proven itself unreliable – and after some participants were told that robot had broken down.

People seem to believe that these robotic systems know more about the world than they really do, and that they would never make mistakes or have any kind of fault,

Alan Wagner, a senior research engineer in the Georgia Tech Research Institute

Nobody Wants Social Robots That Look Like Humans Because They Threaten Our Identity

Nobody Wants Social Robots That Look Like Humans Because They Threaten Our Identity

Over the last several years, when surveys have asked people (in Europe and Japan) about how they feel about robots in their lives, along with a positive perception of robots in general there was a significant amount of resistance to the idea of anthropomorphic robots doing things like
teaching children or taking care of the elderly.

A huggable robotic mall guard

It’s not about having a human presence, it’s about having an authoritative presence.

[…]

When we put them in a shopping center, we actually found that people are excited about it. They look at him and they run towards him. And two things have come up: one is the robot-hug and two is the robot-selfie

TOPIO has the looks

TOPIO is one of the technology highlights associated with Vietnam’s wikipedia page. The muscular body, white skin, chocolate bars and sun glasses seems the best features for a robot who’s only purpose is to play ping pong with a human.

The moves have “improved” since the first version. But I guess, it will be mostly the looks that defeats a human.