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Review
. 2017 Jun 9:8:958.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00958. eCollection 2017.

Ethorobotics: A New Approach to Human-Robot Relationship

Ádám Miklósi  1   2 , Péter Korondi  3 , Vicente Matellán  4 , Márta Gácsi  2
Affiliations
Review

Ethorobotics: A New Approach to Human-Robot Relationship

Ádám Miklósi et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Here we aim to lay the theoretical foundations of human-robot relationship drawing upon insights from disciplines that govern relevant human behaviors: ecology and ethology. We show how the paradox of the so called "uncanny valley hypothesis" can be solved by applying the "niche" concept to social robots, and relying on the natural behavior of humans. Instead of striving to build human-like social robots, engineers should construct robots that are able to maximize their performance in their niche (being optimal for some specific functions), and if they are endowed with appropriate form of social competence then humans will eventually interact with them independent of their embodiment. This new discipline, which we call ethorobotics, could change social robotics, giving a boost to new technical approaches and applications.

Keywords: dog; ethology; human-robot interaction; niche; social competence; social robotics; uncanny valley.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
A modified reproduction of Mori’s (1970) original ‘uncanny valley’ hypothesis by showing only the reaction to moving agents.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
An extended version of Mori’s idea by Jamais Cascio (from http://www.openthefuture.com/2007/10/the_second_uncanny_valley.html). The second valley shows a similar effect related to robots evolved from perfect humanlike agents, as they become less similar to humans – following the path of trans-human and, eventually, post-human robots. The hill after the valley is when differentiation is strong enough to create a new category.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
An ethorobotic concept of emerging human-robot interaction. Based on Mori’s idea, the present situation and the envisaged progress of social robotics are shown in a three-dimensional space to separate human-likeness, functionality and ease of interaction. After the peak and the second uncanny valley, robots are likely to evolve into a diversity of morphologies and behaviors that, depending on their functions, gradually move away from perfect human likeness. The wide curved arrow indicates the possible detour for social robotics by moving directly from the present state to less humanlike robots with diverse functionality retaining high-level capacity for social interaction with humans. The labels on the terrain are only for informative purposes and do not necessarily refer to actual existing robots.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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