What Social Cognition can teach us about designing Human Robot interaction

June 30, 2021:  What Social Cognition can teach us about designing Human Robot interaction. Presented to Applied Artificial intelligence and Robotics Research Lab, Obafemi Awolowo Univ, Ife, Nigeria.

When you say the word Robot, many people think of something from a Star Wars type movie – a human-looking and acting automated machine.   In fact robotics and robots refer to machines that are programmed to do certain tasks or behave in certain ways to assist with different tasks.   Robots include machines that help in manufacturing, packaging, cleaning or delivery.   They may not look like a human at all. 

Interactions between humans and robots are increasing every day.  So it is important that developers design robots that work best with people. 

In Africa, however, there are few resources to develop robotic projects and few individuals with the knowledge and experience to use these limited resources.

To address this problem, Dr. Kayode Ayodele established the Applied Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Research Lab at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ife, Nigeria.  The Lab brings together a learning community of faculty and students to build capacity for this important area of engineering. 

Paul Sachs has served as mentor to one graduate student in Dr. Ayodele’s program.  This connection led to Paul being invited to make a presentation to Dr. Ayodele’s department.   Paul’s past work in social psychology was of interest to the group.  He spoke about social cognition — how people think about social situations — and its application to designing human-robot interactions.   

This topic generated a lot of interest and questions from the audience as it was a subject area that had not previously been considered in robotics.  What followed was a lively discussion and question and answer that lasted nearly as long as Paul’s presentation. 

The field of psychology is relevant to most any aspect of human activity.   So, if you are looking for opportunities to expand the educational offerings to your employees or to jump-start an innovation initiative, ReidSachs LLC is available to help you.  Send us an email and we can discuss your ideas and develop a plan.