Socially intelligent robots: research, development, and applications

I outline my approach for the design of a robot that can engage humans in a natural, intuitive, social manner. We have found that humans perceive and interpret the robot's actions as socially significant and possessing communicative value. This has led us to define a very different set of constraints and challenges for autonomous robot control that lie along a social dimension. The goal of this research program is to pioneer a path toward the creation of sociable robots. Our journey should be a responsible one, well-conceived and well intentioned. For this reason, it is important that this work raises some of the philosophical and ethical questions regarding how building such technologies shapes our self-understanding, and how these technologies might impact society.