This monograph presents innovative research regarding the body experience of human individuals who are using assistive robotic devices such as wearable robots or teleoperation systems. The focus is set on human-in-the-loop experiments that help to empirically evaluate how users experience devices. Moreover, these experiments allow for further examination of the underlying mechanisms of body experience through extending existing psychological paradigms, e.g., by disentangling tactile feedback from contacts. Besides reporting and discussing psychological examinations, the influence of various aspects of engineering design is investigated, e.g., different implementations of haptic interfaces or robot control. As haptics are of paramount importance in this tight type of human-robot interaction, it is explored with respect to modality as well as temporal and spatial effects. The first part of the book motivates the research topic and gives an in-depth analysis of the experimental requirements. The second and third part present experimental designs and studies of human-robot body experience regarding the upper and lower limbs as well as cognitive models to predict them. The fourth part discusses a multitude of design considerations and provides directions to guide future research on bidirectional human-machine interfaces and non-functional haptic feedback.

Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) considers how people can interact with robots in order to enable robots to best interact with people. HRI presents many challenges with solutions requiring a unique combination of skills from many fields, including computer science, artificial intelligence, social sciences, ethology and engineering. We have specifically aimed this work to appeal to such a multi-disciplinary audience. This volume presents new and exciting material from HRI researchers who discuss research at the frontiers of HRI. The chapters address the human aspects of interaction, such as how a robot may understand, provide feedback and act as a social being in interaction with a human, to experimental studies and field implementations of human–robot collaboration ranging from joint action, robots practically and safely helping people in real world situations, robots helping people via rehabilitation and robots acquiring concepts from communication. This volume reflects current trends in this exciting research field.

Building a conscious robot is a scientific and technological challenge. Debates about the possibility of conscious robots and the related positive outcomes and hazards for human beings are today no longer confined to philosophical circles. Robot consciousness is a research field aimed at a two-part goal: on the one hand, scholars working in robot consciousness take inspiration from biological consciousness to build robots that present forms of experiential and functional consciousness. On the other hand, scholars employ robots as tools to better understand biological consciousness. Thus, part one of the goal concerns the replication of aspects of biological consciousness in robots, by unifying a variety of approaches from AI and robotics, cognitive robotics, epigenetic and affective robotics, situated and embodied robotics, developmental robotics, anticipatory systems, and biomimetic robotics. Part two of the goal is pursued by employing robots to advance and mark progress in the study of consciousness in humans and animals. Notably, neuroscientists involved in the study of consciousness do not exclude the possibility that robots may be conscious. This eBook comprises a collection of thirteen manuscripts and an Editorial published by Frontiers in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, under the section Humanoid Robotics, and Frontiers in Neurorobotics, on the topic “Consciousness in Humanoid Robots.” This compendium aims at collating the most recent theoretical studies, models, and case studies of machine consciousness that take the humanoid robot as a frame of reference. The content in the articles may be applied to many different kinds of robots, and to software agents as well.

It has been shown that with appropriate multisensory stimulation an illusion of owning an artificial object as part of their own body can be induced in people. Such body ownership illusions have been shown to occur with artificial limbs, such as rubber hands, and even entire artificial or virtual bodies. Although extensive research has been carried out regarding full body ownership illusions with mannequins and virtual bodies, few studies exist that apply this concept to humanoid robots. On the other hand, extensive research has been carried out with robots in terms of telepresence and remote manipulation of the robot, known as teleoperation. Combining these concepts would give rise to a highly immersive, embodied experience in a humanoid robot located at a remote physical location, which holds great potential in terms of real-world applications. In this thesis, we aim to apply this phenomenon of full body ownership illusions in the context of humanoid robots, and to develop real-world applications where this technology could be beneficial. More specifically, by relying on knowledge gained from previous studies regarding body ownership illusions, we investigated whether it is possible to elicit this illusion with a humanoid robot. In addition, we developed a system in the context of telepresence robots, where the participant is embodied in a humanoid robot that is present in a different physical location, and can use this robotic body to interact with the remote environment. To test the functionality of the system and to gain an understanding of body ownership illusions with robots, we carried out two experimental studies and one case-study of a demonstration of the system as a real-world application. In the Brain-Computer Interface versus Eye Tracker study, we used our system to investigate whether it was possible to induce a full body ownership illusion over a humanoid robot with a highly ‘robotic' appearance. In addition, we compared two different abstract methods of control, a Steady-State Visually Evoked Potential (SSVEP) based Brain-Computer Interface and eye-tracking, in an immersive environment to drive the robot. This was done mainly as a motivation for developing a prototype of a system that could be used by disabled patients. Our results showed that a feeling of body ownership illusion and agency can be induced, even though the postures between participants and the embodied robot were incongruent (the participant was sitting, while the robot was standing). Additionally, both BCI and eye tracking were reported to be suitable methods of control, although the degree of body ownership illusion was influenced by the control method, with higher scores of ownership reported for the BCI condition. In the Tele-Immersive Journalism case study, we used the same system as above, but with the added capability of letting the participant control the robot body by moving their own body. Since in this case we provided synchronous visuomotor correlations with the robotic body we expected this to result in an even higher level of body ownership illusion. By making the robot body the source of their associated sensations we simulate a type of virtual teleportation. We applied this system successfully to the context of journalism, where a journalist could be embodied in a humanoid robot located in a remote destination and carry out interviews through their robotic body. We provide a case-study where the system was used by several journalists to report news about the system itself as well as for reporting other stories. In the Multi-Destination Beaming study, we extended the functionality of the system to include three destinations. The aim of the study was to investigate whether participants could cope with being in three places at same time, and embodied in three different surrogate bodies. We had two physical destinations with one robot in each, and a third virtual destination where the participant would be embodied in a virtual body. The results indicate that the system was physically and psychologically comfortable, and was rated highly by participants in terms of usability in real world. Additionally, high feelings of body ownership illusion and agency were reported, which were not influenced by the robot type. This provides us with clues regarding body ownership illusion with humanoid robots of different dimensions, along with insight about self-localisation and multilocation. Overall, our results show that it is possible to elicit a full body ownership illusion over humanoid robotic bodies. The studies presented here advance the current theoretical framework of body representation, agency and self-perception by providing information about various factors that may affect the illusion of body ownership, such as a highly robotic appearance of the artificial body, having indirect methods of control, or even being simultaneously embodied in three different bodies. Additionally, the setup described can also be used to great effect for highly immersive remote robotic embodiment applications, such as one demonstrated here in the field of journalism.

Trust in Human-Robot Interaction addresses the gamut of factors that influence trust of robotic systems. The book presents the theory, fundamentals, techniques and diverse applications of the behavioral, cognitive and neural mechanisms of trust in human-robot interaction, covering topics like individual differences, transparency, communication, physical design, privacy and ethics. Presents a repository of the open questions and challenges in trust in HRI Includes contributions from many disciplines participating in HRI research, including psychology, neuroscience, sociology, engineering and computer science Examines human information processing as a foundation for understanding HRI Details the methods and techniques used to test and quantify trust in HRI

As modern technologies continue to develop and evolve, the ability of users to adapt with new systems becomes a paramount concern. Research into new ways for humans to make use of advanced computers and other such technologies through artificial intelligence and computer simulation is necessary to fully realize the potential of tools in the 21st century. Advanced Methodologies and Technologies in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Simulation, and Human-Computer Interaction provides emerging research in advanced trends in robotics, AI, simulation, and human-computer interaction. Readers will learn about the positive applications of artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction in various disciples such as business and medicine. This book is a valuable resource for IT professionals, researchers, computer scientists, and researchers invested in assistive technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, and computer simulation.