Building Social Robots

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04/25/2008

Apr. 25, 2008

Building Social Robots

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Can't find anyone to hang out with? Maybe you should invite a robot into your home. In this segment, Ira and guests talk about developing robots with personalities -- moving on beyond the mechanical arms found in today's factories, to devices that could interact with people on a social level. Some of us already anthropomorphize our robotic assistants -- who hasn't called the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner 'cute?' Inventors are working to develop devices that can interact with people on a deeper level, however: communicating, responding to emotion, and operating under specific rules of social behavior. How soon will it be before social, lovable robots enter our homes?

We'll also hear from inventor Dean Kamen about the results of FIRST, a worldwide robotics competition for young inventors. An alliance of three teams from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, Greenville, Texas, and Sterling Heights, Michigan won this year's championships, held last weekend.

Produced by Molly Webster

Guests

Helen Greiner
Chairman and Co-Founder

iRobot Corporation

Burlington, Massachusetts
Peter McOwen
Project Coordinator, Living with Robots and Interactive Companions (LIREC)

Professor of Computer Science

Queen Mary, University of London

London, United Kingdom
Dean Kamen
Inventor

Founder, FIRST Robotics Competition

Founder, DEKA Research & Development
Corporation

Manchester, New Hampshire
Grant Cox
Team member of winning FIRST Robotics Team "Thunder
Chickens"

Senior, Eisenhower High
School

Sterling Heights, Michigan

Apr. 25, 2008