EXPLORING ROBOTS' IMPACT ON OUR DAILY LIVES AT IEEE RO-MAN 2024

Attending Ro-Man 2024 in Pasadena was an eye-opening experience. The theme of this year’s conference, Embracing Human-Centered HRI, resonates deeply with me. As a designer who has always been enthusiastic about creating meaningful human experiences with emerging technologies — I get really excited about the idea of robots getting smarter, more useful, and more empathetic to our needs. For me, this is the essence of human-centered design: ensuring that technology enhances human experiences in meaningful and impactful ways.

KEYNOTE INSIGHTS FROM THE INVISIBLE ROBOT

Photo credit: ‘On designing robots to be invisible-in-use’ by Leila Takayama

One of the most inspiring talks that addressed this idea came from keynote speaker Leila Takayama making a great case for why robots should aim to become more ‘invisible’. She likened them to functioning similar to other useful tools that seamlessly integrate into our lives. Takayama pointed out how the most effective tools often feel like extensions of ourselves, becoming so natural that they disappear into the background. By stepping back, these robots allow people the space to live more freely, without the technology demanding attention.

WHAT IS HUMAN-CENTERED HRI?

The conference’s broad interpretation of “Human-Centered HRI” was truly inspiring. Some talks approached the topic of human-centered HRI through a technical lens, looking at the capabilities of things like Large Language Models (LLM) to enable better things like better cross-cultural interactions. Other talks with titles like “Do Humans Have Different Expectations Regarding Humans and Robots’ Morality?” explored the underlying psychological foundations necessary for humans to trust robots enough to even have a human-centered HRI experience. 

The depth and nuance of the research presented were equally impressive. An excellent example of the subtle cues that mediate interactions between robots and humans was highlighted in the paper Attentiveness: A Key Factor in Fostering Affective and Cognitive Trust with Non-Humanoid Robots. The authors skillfully explored how care and attentiveness can be communicated by robots at a very subtle level. This approach felt like a step in the right direction of achieving that invisibility that Takayama had alluded to, focusing on the rich and nuanced ways in which robots can intentionally interact with people to foster trust and connection.

SEMIOTICS AND ROBOTICS

Photo credit: ‘Human, Animal, or Machine? A Design-Based Exploration of Social Robot Embodiment with a Creative Toolkit.’ by Amelie Voges, Dr. Mary Ellen Foster & Prof. Emily S. Cross

Rodney Brooks’ first law of robotics resonated strongly throughout the conference: ‘The visual appearance of a robot makes a promise about what it can do and how smart it is. It needs to deliver—or slightly over-deliver—on that promise, or it will not be accepted.’ This concept was really well illustrated by the talk titled ‘Human, Animal, or Machine? A Design-Based Exploration of Social Robot Embodiment with a Creative Toolkit.’ The paper explored a co-creation process in which people imagined what robots performing various tasks would look like. People’s biases created via visual affordances were fascinating, demonstrating how a robot can convey its intent even before interacting with a person.

AUTONOMY VS COLLABORATION

While we’ve emphasized the importance of robots blending into the background, there’s a crucial balance to strike between creating autonomous entities that fully blend into the background and devices that are autonomous but also collaborative. The difference here is that the latter gets better the more that you interact with them, constantly learning and enabling richer interactions over time. This balance was captured in a quote shared by the CEO of iRobot, the creators of the Roomba vacuum cleaner, who noted their shift away from making robots that are purely autonomous to robots that carefully and intentionally foster collaboration with people. This example from a leading company in the field serves as a reminder of the critical balance we’re trying to strike as designers creating new experiences between robots and humans.

APPLYING THESE INSIGHTS TO FUTURE WORK

This conference has sparked a wealth of ideas as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in robotics design. There are many takeaways that we’re eagerly building into our internal capabilities here at Card79. These insights will not only inform our approach but also help us refine how we support robotics companies in creating products that seamlessly blend into people’s lives.

From concept development to market-ready solutions, we are committed to enhancing the user experience in robotics. If you’re looking to elevate your robotics projects with innovative design, explore our expertise page to discover how we can collaborate to bring your vision to life.