HUMAN-ROBOT: FROM INTERACTION TO RELATIONSHIP

Our world is widely composed of machines, robots, avatars and so on. We daily interact with them. Thus, it is time to reconsider our interactions between human and robot going from interaction to relationship. To model the relationship, we defined first the notion of bringing together which is built on four dimensions: how, where, who and what. Then, we explained the shift to relationship inspired by social science studies, with a focus on human-robot research. Finally, we proposed a general protocol to evaluate the human-robot relationships illustrated by a case study methodology. Now, further research is needed in order to assess how to maximize robot acceptance in the human environment and what type of robot may help develop a positive relationship. For example, many possible application fields exist from education for children to cognitive stimulation and companionship for the elderly.