Stereotypes and Social Robots

Project description

CRADLE is an EPSRC-funded Prosperity Partnership that brings together the industrial experience that Jacobs have in applied robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) with the research expertise at the University of Manchester in this field. The partnership aims to deliver novel and transformational RAS technology that enables robots to be deployed in the most demanding environments, such as space, nuclear, energy generation and urban infrastructure, over long lengths of time. In some of these settings, robots will need to be designed to work in collaboration with humans (human robot interaction).

People are prone to anthropomorphize (i.e. assign human qualities to) the many non-human entities with which they interact (objects, animals, etc.). This is particularly evident in the robot domain, where the majority of popular culture references involve robots taking human-like forms and engaging in human-like interactions. Thus, when designing for human-robot interactions, we may want to look to the cognitive tools that govern human-to-human interactions.

Stereotypes are the beliefs that we hold about a specific group of individuals (the attributes that make up these beliefs are referred to as stereotype content). Although often associated with negative (prejudiced) behaviour against individuals and groups, stereotypes are a valuable cognitive tool that can reduce cognitive load, facilitate decision-making, and help in our social interactions.

This project involves the application of stereotype content models to human-robot interactions. This will include the forms and external attributes of robots that influence associations and stereotype content, and the influence of associations and stereotype content in human-robot interactions. A potential application of this work would be the leveraging or manipulation of the stereotypes/associations users hold for social robots in order to address social equality or social justice issues.

You will need experience and interests in human-computer interaction or a related discipline (e.g. human-robot interaction, psychology) for this PhD. While this project is open to overseas students, CRADLE funding will only cover UK Home Student Fees. You will need to look for and apply for additional funding to cover the difference between overseas fees and home student fees. Please find this link for guidance on tuition fees: https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/programmes/list/02954/phd-computer-science/

All projects will be supervised by academics at the University of Manchester and experts in the application of robotic systems at Jacobs, and they will all contain a significant focus on the design and development of practical robotic demonstrators.