Android Science: How We Interact With Human-Like Robots

Android science studies how we deal with Android, which refers to human-like robot.

Types of Android

By gender

Generally, Android refers to human-like robots, and Gynoid specially refers to human-like robots with the gender of female.

The distinction between the two exists, since Android, from its word root “andr”, is masculine in gender.

By composition

The mummy type

They are made totally from dead matter.

The golem type

They are made from organic materials.

The automation type

They are made with a mix of dead and living things.

Models of Android

Sensors

Proprioceptive sensors

They sense information about the body of the robot.

Some examples include position, orientation and speed of the body.

Exteroceptive sensors

They sense information about the external world.

Some examples include sounds and touched objects.

Actuators

They are the motors for motion of the robot.

Since Android are human-like robots, the actuators should work in a way similar to human muscles and joints.

Test for the humanness of Android

Total Turing Test

Foundations

It is a generalization from the Turing Test, which checks if AI can think like human, to a test to see if a robot can act like human.

Procedure

Apart from testing Android’s abilities to think like human, their ability to physically behave like human is also tested.

Human responses to Android

Types of responses

Body features

Android are evaluated to see if they have a body similar to that of human.

Behaviours

Android are evaluated to see if they acts like a human.

Models of responses

Uncanny valley

The likability of Android varies with its similarity of human, the uncanny valley has its name because of the sharp fall and rise of likability of Android when they are very but not totally similar to human.

Starting from zero humanness, there is an increase of likability from non-human to human.

However, there is eventually an arrival at the critical point, where is the stop for increase of likability with more humanness.

Afterwards, there is a decrease of likability from non-human to human.

Later there is an arrival at another critical point, where is the stop for decrease of likability with more humanness.

Eventually, there is again an Increase of likability from non-human to human.

There are several explanations for the uncanny valley, but they all converge to the point that Androids which is very but not totally similar to human are recognized as individuals that should be avoided, due to poor health conditions or what we expect as human.

Factors affecting the responses

The strangeness of Android comes from the deviation of what we think as a good human, which is built from our model for perceiving human.

Age

As children have not fully developed the model for recognizing human, Androids are probably less strange for them, since they have not established a solid standard for what is human yet.

Conclusion

With the advance of technology, robots can become more human-like, which makes the research on Android science more important.