December 3, 2018
Dr. Lionel Robert’s recent research on robot-human interaction in the workplace is expanding the boundaries of computer-mediated communication. Dr. Robert uses experimental approaches to investigate the way social aspects of human-robot relationships affect how efficaciously teams accomplish tasks. For example, in a recent study about embodied physical action (EPA) robots, he investigated whether attachment and team identity had an effect on task performance. Study participants who where exposed to an emotional attachment building task (such as constructing a portion of the robot) indeed performed better on tasks and demonstrated more team viability than participants in the control group. This was also true of participants in a group in which team members, including the robot, were given uniforms and asked to give their team a name.
Robert is also interested in trust between human and robot co-workers. In one experiment he manipulated surface level similarities (e.g., gender), deeper-level similarities (e.g., personal preferences), and risk of danger. Both levels of similarity increased human trust of robots, but deeper similarities led to greater trust when the risk of danger was high. As part of these research efforts, Robert is developing a theoretical model that can describe the relationship between perceived safety and human-robot work collaboration (HRWC).
Robert’s recent research underscores the importance of social dimensions in human-robot work relationships and provides a glimpse into the future of digitally-mediated communication. Social dimensions such as trust, emotional attachment, and team identity have implications for human perceptions of robots and ultimately, for people’s desire to work with robots.
Lionel Robert is an Affiliate of the Center for Computer-Mediated Communication who received his Ph.D. in 2006 from IU’s Kelley School of Business. He is currently an associate professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.
Want to know more about Lionel Robert’s research? Check out his recent publications:
Robert, L. P. (2018). Personality in the human robot interaction literature: A review and brief critique. Proceedings of the 24th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2018), Aug 16-18, New Orleans, LA.
You, S., Kim, J., Lee, S., Kamat, V., Robert, L. P. (2018). Enhancing perceived safety in human–robot collaborative construction using immersive virtual environments. Automation in Construction (AutoCon), 96, 161-170.
You, S., & Robert, L. P. (2018). Human-robot similarity and willingness to work with a robotic co-worker. Proceedings of the 13th Annual ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction (HRI 2018), March 5–8, 2018, Chicago, IL.
You, S., & Robert, L. P. (2018). Emotional attachment, performance, and viability in teams collaborating with embodied physical action (EPA) robots. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 19(5), 377-407.