Social Robots - Robotics and Toy Computing
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Item The Playful Path to Progress: Uncovering the Bright Future of Social Robots(2025-01-07) Boch, Auxane; Max, Raphael; Kriebitz, Alexander; Lütge, ChristophThis paper investigates the potential of social robots as play partners and their potential impact on human development. In this exploration, we aim to shed light on the potential role of social robots in teaching humans and emphasise their possible significance in promoting learning and development. Our introduction begins by emphasising the intrinsic value of play and provides a historical and evolutionary perspective to contextualise our research. We then delve into the concept of social play, highlighting its importance in human development. Throughout this paper, we explore the crucial role of interactional play in human development, offering examples at various stages of life. We emphasise the significance of social robots as play partners and examine the benefits they could bring to the learning and development process. In conclusion, we summarise the potential role of social robots as play partners and underscore the considerable impact they could have on human development.Item What Motivates People to Prefer and Love Chatbots? An Empirical Investigation Based on Self-Determination Theory(2025-01-07) Fröbel, Lara; Kenning, PeterAs artificial intelligence is gaining relevance, the use of chatbots is becoming increasingly popular. Due to their ability to simulate human interactions and emotions, people become more and more involved when interacting with them. This interaction and involvement can result in different types of intentions and emotions. However, there is still a need for integrating theories in IS literature that explain what motivates a person to relate in the aforementioned way to a chatbot. To fill this gap, we apply self-determination theory to the field of chatbot interaction. We found, empirically, that perceived competence and relatedness motivate a person to be committed to the chatbot. This commitment influences chatbot love, preferences for the chatbot and loyalty to it. Furthermore, mindfulness can strengthen the link between commitment and perceived love for the chatbot.Item A Review on Shaping Chatbot Personalities via Large Language Models(2025-01-07) Chang, Ting-Chi; Chen, Yu-Jou; Hung , Sheng; Chang , Ning-Hsuan; Ku, Chih-Hao; Lin, Szu-Yin; Chien, Shih-YiWith the advent of large language models (LLMs), setting chatbot personalities via LLMs has become an important topic to facilitate human-chatbot interaction. To provide clear guidelines and best practices, we conducted a systematic literature review to consolidate various methods, including prompting, fine-tuning, unsupervised machine learning, and knowledge editing. Our research synthesizes findings from numerous studies, providing a comprehensive overview of existing methods and their impact on developing chatbot personalities via LLM approaches. By exploring these methods in detail, we aim to highlight the importance of integrating personality traits into chatbot development. Our goal is to provide developers with the necessary insights to adopt appropriate methods for designing robot personality traits and implementing chatbot applications. Ultimately, our synthesis will enhance the effectiveness and user experience when interacting with LLM personality-based chatbots and suggest future directions to advance the field of LLM personality development.Item SeniorMedManagement: Assistive Solution to Help Older Adults Manage Treatment Using Social Robots and Virtual Assistants(2025-01-07) Bonfim Pita, Matheus Ancelmo; Fantinato, Marcelo; Hung, PatrickWith the natural decline in health, older adults increasingly require various forms of assistance. As the global senior population continues to grow, the demand for professional caregivers rises correspondingly. Throughout history, assistive technologies such as canes, walkers, and hearing aids have played a crucial role in senior care. Among the extensive range of available assistive technologies, robots and virtual assistants are particularly notable for their wide array of applications for both assistants and caregivers. By integrating a social robot with a virtual assistant, an assistive solution can be developed where their functionalities complement each other. This study aimed to create an assistive solution focused on the care of older adults by leveraging the combined functionalities of social robots and virtual assistants. To validate the proposed assistive solution, an experiment was conducted in which potential users simulated care and schedule management scenarios to examine the interaction between older adults and the employed technology. The positive feedback from the experiment indicated that the assistive solution would be both useful and appreciated, not only for care-related activities but also for daily tasks.Item AI Leadership: Investigating the Discrepancy between Perceived and Actual Effectiveness(2025-01-07) Stock-Homburg, RuthTraditional leadership research assumes leadership decisions rest with humans. This article posits that generative AI (genAI), which creates content or predicts outcomes from data, has significant potential for leadership in the future of work. We examine genAI’s contribution to leadership through an online experiment with critical (n=304) leadership scenarios, assessing genAI versus human leadership. Additionally, we explore leader acceptance of AI leadership through another online experiment (n=301). Results indicate leaders prefer AI-generated decisions when the source is unknown but favor human leaders when identities are disclosed. Our findings highlight a preference for human leaders despite recognizing AI’s potential effectiveness, suggesting that a purely AI-based or human-based approach is insufficient. Future research should explore an AI-supported leadership model integrating AI-generated insights with human decision-making to enhance both decision-making and follower acceptance in the evolving workplace.Item Enhancing Social Bonding and Well-being for the Elderly through AI-Powered Social Robots(2025-01-07) Tseng, Hsiao-Ting; Lo, Chia-LunWith the global challenge of aging, ensuring proper elderly care and social well-being is pivotal. This study explores the potential of AI-powered social robots in building an elderly community network based on a localized friend recommendation model. The goal is to leverage social robots to improve elderly social bonding, participation, friendship networks, and activities, thereby mitigating the risk of lonely aging. Utilizing deep learning, we analyze personality traits from the lifestyle data of the elderly. Next, machine learning generates a friend recommendation model by incorporating these traits with interests, hobbies, and local geospatial data. The recommended connections are then facilitated through interactive social robots. This study aims to bolster community engagement for the elderly, combining efficient AI analysis with practical robotic solutions tailored for their needs.Item Introduction to the Minitrack on Social Robots - Robotics and Toy Computing(2025-01-07) Hung, Patrick; Marques Peres, Sarajane; Huang, Shih-Chia