A review of recent research in social robotics

Research in social robotics has a different emphasis from research in robotics for factory, military, hospital, home (vacuuming), aerial (drone), space, and undersea applications. A social robot is one whose purpose is to serve a person in a caring interaction rather than to perform a mechanical task. Both because of its newness and because of its narrower psychological rather than technological emphasis, research in social robotics tends currently to be concentrated in a single journal and single annual conference. This review categorizes such a research into three areas: (1) Affect, Personality and Adaptation; (2) Sensing and Control for Action; and (3 Assistance to the Elderly and Handicapped. Current application is primarily for children's toys and devices to comfort the elderly and handicapped, as detailed in Section 'Toys and the market for social robots in general'.