Interactive Robotic Systems as Boundary-Crossing Robots – the User’s View*

Abstract

Social robots are receiving more attention through increased research and development, and they are gradually becoming a part of our daily lives. In this study, we investigated how social robots are accepted by robot users. We applied the theoretical lens of the boundary-crossing robot concept, which describes the role shift of robots from tools to agents. This concept highlights the impact of social robots on the everyday lives of humans, and can be used to structure the development of perceived interactions between robots and human users. In this paper, we report on the results of a web questionnaire study conducted among users of interactive devices (humanoid robots, animal robots, and smart speakers). Their acceptance and roles in daily life are compared from both functional and affective perspectives, with respect to their perceived roles as boundary-crossing robots.