Social Media in Human–Robot Interaction

Social Media in Human–Robot Interaction

The objective of this paper is to discuss and demonstrate in a case study the application of social media as a tool for acceptance, sociability and interaction in human–robot interaction (HRI). By adopting the concept of mediatization as discussed in media and communication studies, we aim to propos...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of social robotics Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 389 - 402
Main Authors: Zeller, Frauke, Smith, David Harris, Au Duong, Jacky, Mager, Alanna
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-05-2020
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Control
Digital media
Engineering
Evaluation
Mechatronics
Personality
Public participation
Robotics
Robots
Social networks
Websites
Mediatization
Human–robot interaction
Public engagement
Public understanding
Social media
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Summary:The objective of this paper is to discuss and demonstrate in a case study the application of social media as a tool for acceptance, sociability and interaction in human–robot interaction (HRI). By adopting the concept of mediatization as discussed in media and communication studies, we aim to propose an extended usage of social media in the design of robots but also in collecting data on their acceptance and sociability. We aim to provide a starting point for ongoing studies into the extension of HRI evaluation frameworks, which provide additional ways to measure HRI based on a media and communication studies approach. Our discussion is supported by results of an HRI public engagement project, which included a social media strategy. The project was designed around a hitchhiking robot, called hitchBOT , which was dependent on the public’s engagement and support in its hitchhiking objectives. The robot’s social media strategies included accounts and profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a website. The aim was to use social media in order to engage not only with those people finding hitchBOT on the side of the road, but also a wider international audience. The robot’s social media accounts provided a tool to communicate hitchBOT’s origins, personality, goals, and travels. Our use of social media to communicate hitchBOT ’s personality and to instill trust, interest and emotional engagement constituted a novel contribution to the design of social robots and to the scope and scale of evaluation in HRI.
ISSN:1875-4791
1875-4805
DOI:10.1007/s12369-019-00573-4