The rise of Personal Robots was a very intriguing video *smiles*. I think it should be examined further by our Think Tank for two reasons 1) It expounds on the evolution of social skills in robots and 2) because it examines the concept of how youth view the integration of virtual worlds with real worlds. One of the challenges that we have with the entrance of robots into mainstream use is the lack of sociability. The video points out that in the past we have always associated robots the interaction with things and not people. Therefore, the socialization of robots appears to be precursor to their acceptance. *grins* As futurists we should be watching for breakthroughs in socialization as a signal that they are about to emerge. Cynthia Breazeal's team developed a robot with primitive social skills, which should that it is possible for them to interact with humans. *grins* She also compared the robot interaction with a computer and revealed that humans named the robots, dressed them and waved them good bye, which showed that given social skills robots can become acceptable companions.
The second major point that Breazeal made was that children are able to interact with robots and virtual worlds almost seamlessly. This is important because children can be good indicators of acceptability and their generation will likely see personal robots in action. Also it identifies a new possible market for video games that have robot companions. The multi billion dollar gaming market could very well drive the introduction of social robots into the mainstream. *grins* If this occurs and children grow up with robot companions via their games, the adoption hurdle is easily eliminated. *grins* Thoughts?
*waves*
Jim Thomas
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