Use of Robots in Behavioral Studies on Primates

Group-living primates often perform complex social behaviors. Traditionally, observational and experimental studies have provided important insights into the social behaviors of primates; however, these studies have limitations regarding unambiguous causality. The use of artificial stimuli can aid in understanding the mechanisms of animal behavior. A robot, which can perform some behavior sequences automatically or by remote control, serves as a new method to study the response of an animal to the stimulus of the same or other species. One of the advantages of using a robot is that researchers can change the appearance and behavior in line with their purpose. In addition, using a robot can help investigate the influence of more than one individual on another individual’s behaviors. Although it is advantageous to use robots in the study of animal behaviors, it entails various challenges. This paper reviews the studies on animal behavior that used robots as stimuli and discusses the contribution of using robots in primate behavior study in the future.