Social Robotics

Robot plays an important role in performing a wide variety of tasks in the modern world. For example, Robotic surgery are common in a hospital. The use of a robotic system extends a surgeon's capabilities of performing surgery. While people expect a robot to be a labor device or an intelligent machine, they still doubt the robot's ability to engage a user by behaving like a human with emotion and thinking. If a robot can easily recognize a human's emotion and respond in much the same way as a human does, this ability will facilitate the robot's integration in society. This unexplored area does interest some start-ups who invented different consumer robotic products like Jibo and Reach Robotics. However, the failures of them proved there is still large room for improvement.

Jibo, launched in 2006, is among the first wave of social robots used at home. It is a family companion fulfilling different kinds of interactive tasks, such as taking pictures and sending messages. Moreover, Jibo can greet and chat with users in a fun and friendly way, behaving exactly like their friend with personality. Despite the benefit of two built-in cameras that recognize faces, security becomes another concern. Jibo's access of video and audio allows the system to collect data and thus places the user in a potential unsafe situation. This worry will be an ongoing challenge amid the development of robots in today and future's world. The humanization of robots is still a new and controversial topic that requires a lot more research and practices.