Serious science robot Baxter helping University of
Canterbury research
Deak Helton with the Baxter
robot
University of Canterbury psychology
researchers are working with a revolutionary Baxter robot to
understand human-robot interaction such as trust,
cooperation, social behaviour, aggression and moral
decision-making.
Baxter is the first publically available
industrial robot which is safe to work collaboratively with
people. There is no need for a safety cage for the robot or
keeping people out of the robot’s way.
The University of
Canterbury’s psychology department is uniquely positioned
to do research in human-robot interaction, Professor Deak
Helton says.
“Our psychology department is definitely
going to be a leader in understanding how people work with
technology and we are entering ground-breaking territory.
This is an amazing robot and University of Canterbury
psychology is doing innovative science.
Baxter is not a
toy; he is the first serious step in the robot revolution
where useful robots will work interactively with people. Our
psychology department is anticipating the future where
robots are probably going to be very common.
“We have
already examined remote navigation and control of
uninhabited vehicles. Unlike these previous robots which
were vehicular in shape and function-like drones, Baxter is
humanoid in shape and function with two arms a head and
animated eyes.
“Robots, and in particular, humanoid-like
robots are going to increasingly be found in our
environments, especially workplaces. This raises a lot of
issues of how people will respond. Will people view them
with trust or distrust? How do we use robots in workplaces
most appropriately?
“Will people’s attitudes towards
other people change as robots become more human-like; will
people become excessively attached and addicted to their
robots and thus, become disconnected from other people?
There are lots of questions.
“The future will have
robots and they will change society. A forward looking
psychology department will have robots and our department is
very forward looking. We do not train psychologists for
yesterday, but for tomorrow. “
Dr Kumar Yogeeswaran will
be using the Baxter robot for his research in the field of
socio-robotics. His prior research on the topic has examined
how factors such as a robot's physical appearance, more or
less human-like, or its physical and mental capabilities
impact how people think, feel, and behave towards
robots.
Professor Helton will be employing Baxter to study
how people coordinate and operate safely with robots in
future workplaces. The goal of such research is to better
understand how the increased use of robots in the future
will impact our thoughts, feelings and behaviour toward both
technology and each other.
Baxter can be used for simple
industrial jobs such as loading, unloading, sorting, and
handling of materials. Baxter can even express its confusion
when something isn't right. Baxter is also different from
other industrial robots because it can learn, Professor
Helton says. A number of postgraduate psychology students
are researching with the Baxter robot this
year.
ends