Are androids 'better' robots
The latest issue of Connection Science is dedicated to 'Android science.' This special issue was co-edited by Karl MacDorman, in the Human-Computer Interaction program of the School of Informatics, Indiana University, and Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the Intelligent Robotics Lab at Osaka University. As you'll find out in "I, Robot; You, Human," these scientists have previously worked together on the development of Repliee Q1Expo, an android that was introduced at the 2005 World Exposition in Aizu, Japan. And throughout a selection of scientific papers, they try to answer this question: are androids 'better' than mechanical-looking robots?
Before going further, please note that I'm unable to provide you with direct links to this special issue of Connection Science because of the obfuscated URL structure used by the publisher of this scientific journal. But you still can visit the Taylor & Francis Group website and search for the journal.
Here are some questions that this special issue tries to answer.
Can androids shine light into the murky world of autism and enable scientists to treat it and other psychiatric disorders? What can mechanical beings reveal about how we relate to one another as flesh-and-blood creations? And as these humanlike stand-ins continue to evolve, will they form relationships with us and lay claim to certain moral and legal rights?
As I mentioned above, this special issue was co-edited by Karl MacDorman and Hiroshi Ishiguro. Below is a picture of two robots developed at Hiroshi Ishiguro's Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University. "The android on the left is named Repliee R1, a joint effort with Kokoro Co., Ltd., and the humanoid on the right is named Eveliee P1, a joint effort with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries." (Credit for image and caption: Hiroshi Ishiguro)
