As man and machine work ever more closely together, it’s understandable that the interactions between the two are explored in more depth.  A recent study from the University of Trento found that we tend to be more empathetic towards robots when we have experienced life from their perspective.

The research explored whether ‘beaming’ a human inside a robot, it affects the overall attitude of that person towards the robot.  Interestingly, that is precisely what appeared to happen, with participants appearing to better identify with the robot they had been ‘beamed’ inside of.

“Unlike exercises in which the participants couldn’t t move the robot’s head or do that in a coordinated manner with other body movements, in our study the experience of walking in the shoes of a robot led the participants to adopt a friendlier attitude, to perceive them as socially closer,” the authors explain.

Designing what we use

A similar finding emerged from a recent study from HEC Paris, which explored whether designing a robot made us more inclined to work with them.  The study suggests that people have a much closer attachment to robots they had personally created.

The study also revealed that when we see robots as colleagues rather than inanimate machines, our relationships with the technology is better.  For instance, when robots were personalized in sports jerseys, people seemed to work better with them.  It’s all about building an emotional connection with the machines.

“The emotional connection was particularly apparent when we noticed that before the experiment, they typically referred to the robot as “it” but after the experiment they would refer to their robots as “he” or “she,” the researchers explain.

The findings echo previous work published in 2016, which also examined how building robots affected our relationship with them.

DIY Robotics

The study found that when we play a part in the construction of our robot, we tend to feel more warmly towards it.  Just so long, that is, as the construction process isn’t so torturous that we wish the machine had never crossed our path.

“There is this so-called Ikea effect, with consumer behavior research supporting the notion that when people assemble the products themselves, they feel a great sense of accomplishment and they see themselves reflected in the products they helped to build,” the authors say. “We guessed that if you find that effect in objects like furniture, you would find that effect in interactive media and especially robots.”

The study found that when we built our own robots, we had both a sense of accomplishment, but also felt greater ownership over our creation.

Suffice to say, most robots aren’t going to be the kind that you can construct yourself, but the study provides another interesting glimpse into how we perceive our interactions with machines.

“One design implication in our findings is that robots should be customizable by individual users and the customization should go beyond the assembly stage,” the authors conclude. “While self-assembly can provide an initial sense of accomplishment, the sense of ownership can be sustained with tailoring options that users can continue to tinker with, long after the initial set up.”