As robots start to inhabit our social spaces, and inevitably come into close proximity to people, touch increasingly becomes a central element of human–robot interactions. Touch is integral to several robotics applications within healthcare, assistive technology, rehabilitation, manufacturing, and entertainment. Robotic touch, however, raises not just technical challenges regarding safety and reliability, but equally significant questions concerning its implications for the individual user and culture at large.
We currently do not know which kinds of haptic interaction that are desirable and admissible from robots, nor how touch from a robot is interpreted by different people within various contexts of use. To address these questions, we must develop adequate frameworks to describe and understand the experiential and qualitative aspects of robotic touch.
Aim and purpose
The Robot Touch network aims to advance our current understanding of haptic human-robot interaction by bringing humanities perspectives to the subject, to enable a culturally sustainable and more human-friendly use of robotics technology in society.
The Robot Touch network’s purpose is to provide groundwork for consolidating robotic touch as an interdisciplinary humanities research subject. The scientific ambition is to initiate study of the aesthetic, communicative, and emotional aspects of haptic human-robot interaction specifically.
Partners
Network members are scholars from the humanities (art history, theatre studies, philosophy, linguistics) and related fields (creative robotics, interaction design) actively researching human-robot interaction and creative uses of technology. The highly interdisciplinary network includes recognized national and international domain experts from research environments that are currently not engaged in joint collaboration.
The network core group
- Jonas Jørgensen (network leader, University of Southern Denmark
- Kerstin Fischer, University of Southern Denmark
- Kathrin Maurer, University of Southern Denmark
- Jonas Fritsch, IT University of Copenhagen
- Elizabeth Jochum, Aalborg University
- Johanna Seibt,Aarhus University
- Petra Gemeinboeck, Swinburne University of Technology
- Rob Saunders, Leiden University.
Funded by
The network is funded by an Explorative Network Grant (DKK 792K) awarded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF).
Project period
2024-2026