‘Robot dogs can help beat loneliness’

Besides many humans and several feathery or furry creatures, the UT campus is home to various robots, including one resembling man’s best friend, and the popular domestic version of a tigress. Meet metal dog Robbie and his feline friend I-Cat and find out more about their uses and purposes.

Marloes van Amerom

‘When we first had Robbie we would sometimes have him wait in the corridor to guide our visitors to the correct office. Now we don’t do that so frequently anymore,’ laughs Mannes Poel, as he welcomes me to his office. Besides being an assistant professor specialized in Human Media Interaction, Poel is also Robbie and I-Cat’s owner.

So who are Robbie and I-Cat and what can they do? While Robbie is Japanese, ‘born’ in a Sony factory around 2003, I-Cat turns out to be a real native, composed by Philips as a research tool for universities. ‘What they can do depends on how you decide to program them,’ explains Poel. Although not entirely: Robbie was pre-programmed to develop in a few weeks from ‘helpless puppy’ into a mature dog able to walk, bark and recognize humans – by their legs and feet. After some further programming, he can also fetch things.

So are the days of furry dogs over? ‘Hardly,’ smiles Poel. ‘For one thing, Robbie cannot smell, a major aspect of a dog, and recognize his owner.’ This hinders Robbie’s interaction with humans, including at the Poel’s private residence. ‘Initially my children responded like most people: treating him like they would treat a real dog. But upon finding out he responds quite differently, he became more like an exciting toy to them.’

Socially, Robbie and his metal friends are far from useless in the ‘real world.’ Academic research shows how robot dogs can significantly reduce loneliness in elderly homes by their very presence, and also by inviting conversation on their welfare. But for robot dogs such as Robbie to become really popular – it is perhaps telling that Sony no longer produces them due to a lack of profit – they should act like real dogs, understand gestures and other non-verbal language coming from humans. ‘Language alone just isn’t enough.’

A recent experiment involving I-Cat also highlights the importance of non-verbal aspects in communication. Participants in an internet conference indicated they preferred their counterparts to be represented by I-Cat, rather than viewing them through Skype. Reason: they felt they could communicate better, because the participant in question could instruct I-Cat to nod, or turn her head to look at things and indicate interest.

Meanwhile, a ray of sunlight hits the subject of your conversation: who snoozes on the windowsill with eyes closed shut? Well I-Cat, good for her; she’s has been pretty busy. Thanks to visiting school kids’ programming, she longer ‘just’ acts as an alarm in the morning, but now also ‘tells jokes to facilitate the waking-up process.’

Far from your typical domestic goddess, poor I-Cat is more like a butler-in-chains. ‘Unlike Robbie she is not mobile. Her primary function is to facilitate the creation of a so-called ‘smart home.’ Home owners can instruct her to switch on the light, turn on music and so on. I-Cat’s remaining problems are linked, once more, to non-verbal communication. ‘It is difficult to create a robot face that clearly conveys ‘emotions’ and cues. Only when the owners of I-Cat have seen her laugh first, does her angry look signal a technical problem in the house and have a serious effect on humans.’ Butler-type robots are rapidly gaining popularity, ‘In the near future we may all have some in our houses, combating the effects of a graying population,’ predicts Poel. ‘In Japan, there are already robots that can do part of your housekeeping.’

Friends Furever? Introducing the metal dog Robbie (right), I-Cat and a naorobot playmate.