Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Robot Vacuums Need Personalities!
What is the ideal personality for a robotic vacuum cleaner? A recent study performed by researchers from Delft University of Technology and Philips Research in the Netherlands made some interesting discoveries.
(Robotic vacuum cleaners need personalities)
[A robot vacuum cleaner] exhibits autonomous behavior and it moves around our homes and affects our daily lives. This is very different from conventional, non-robotic vacuum cleaners. People are no longer in full control of what the product is doing, where and when. People need to understand and trust the robot vacuum cleaner. Crucial for the user experience and acceptance of the product is the design of appropriate interaction between human and robot.An accepted and widely used model that describes personality is the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, also referred to as the Big Five. This model organizes personality traits in terms of five basic dimensions: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness... But in their daily lives, people do not only use human personality characteristics to describe people, they also use these to describe products and interaction with products. Or more specific: interaction with computers, robots and—as we have seen—even robot vacuum cleaners.
We discuss the most relevant results with respect to the desired personality here. The [study] participants desired a calm robot vacuum cleaner (6 participants out of 6); it should express that it is in control of the situation.
Furthermore, they wanted the robot vacuum cleaner to be cooperative in nature (5 participants). All of them desired an efficient robot vacuum cleaner (6 participants). They wanted it to like routines (5 participants), as vacuuming is very much a routine job. The participants desired a polite robot vacuum cleaner (5 participants), as well as one that behaves in a systematic way (6).
Douglas Adams wrote about this in his 1979 classic The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He called them "Genuine People Personalities":
“Ghastly,” continued Marvin, “it all is. Absolutely ghastly. Just don't even talk about it. Look at this door,” he said, stepping through it. The irony circuits cut into his voice modulator as he mimicked the style of the sales brochure. “All the doors in this spaceship have a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you, and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done.”As the door closed behind them it became apparent that it did indeed have a satisfied sigh-like quality to it. “Hummmmmmmyummmmmmm ah!” it said...
"Thank you the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation," said Marvin, and trudged desolately up the gleaming curved corridor that stretched out before them. "Let's build robots with Genuine People Personalities," they said. So they tried it out with me. I'm a personality prototype. You can tell, can't you?"
(Read more about Adams' Genuine People Personalities)
From Robot Vacuum Cleaner Personality and Behavio via Spectrum.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/25/2011)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...' - Frederik Poh, 1954.
PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers
'My fingers are not that sensitive...' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.' - Harl Vincent (1934)
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
Boring Company Vegas Loop Like Asimov Said
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
Rigid Metallic Clothing From Science Fiction To You
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
Is The Seattle Ultrasonics C-200 A Heinlein Vibroblade?
'It ain't a vibroblade. It's steel. Messy.'
Roborock Saros Z70 Is A Robot Vacuum With An Arm
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
A Beautiful Visualization Of Compact Food
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
Bone-Building Drug Evenity Approved
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
Secret Kill Switch Found In Yutong Buses
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
Inmotion Electric Unicycle In Combat
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
Grok Scores Best In Psychological Tests
'Try to find out how he ticks...'
PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers
'My fingers are not that sensitive...'
Congress Considers Automatic Emergency Braking, One Hundred Years Too Late
'The greatest problem of all was the elimination of the human element of braking together with its inevitable time lag.'
The Desert Ship Sailed In Imagination
'Across the ancient sea floor a dozen tall, blue-sailed Martian sand ships floated, like blue smoke.'
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
