@article{hrcompanion2024ijsoro, title = {Human-Robot Companionship: Current Trends and Future Agenda}, author = {Ahmed, Eshtiak and Buruk, Oğuz 'Oz' and Hamari, Juho}, abstract = {The field of robotics has grown exponentially over the years, especially the social aspect, which has enabled robots to interact with humans meaningfully. Robots are now used in many domains, such as manufacturing, healthcare, education, entertainment, rehabilitation, etc. Along with their widespread use in many real-life environments, robots have been used as companions to humans. With the increased amount of research done on human–robot partnership (HRC), it is important to understand how this domain is developing, in which direction, and what the future might hold. There is also a need to understand the influenza factors and what kind of empirical results are in the literature. To address these questions, we conducted a systematic literature review and analyzed a final number of 134 relevant articles. The findings suggest that anthropomorphic and zoomorphic robots are more popular as human companions, while there is a lack of interest in functional and caricatured robots. Also, human-like and animal-like features are implemented more in companion robots. Studies rarely exploit the mobility available in these robots in companionship scenarios, especially in outdoor settings. In addition to that, co-existence and co-performance-based implementation with people have been observed rarely. Based on the results, we propose a future research agenda that includes thematic, theoretical, methodological, and technological agendas. This study will help us understand the current state and use of robotic companies which will then potentially aid in determining how HRC can be leveraged and integrated more seamlessly into human lives for better effectiveness.}, journal = {International Journal of Social Robotics}, pages = {1-52}, year = {2024}, doi = {10.1007/s12369-024-01160-y}, publisher = {Springer} }

@inproceedings{wildrobot2023chiworkshop, title = {Socially Assistive Robots as Decision Makers in the Wild: Insights from a Participatory Design Workshop}, abstract = {Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) are becoming very popular every day because of their effectiveness in handling social situations. However, social robots are perceived as intelligent, and thus their decision-making process might have a significant effect on how they are perceived and how effective they are. In this paper, we present the findings from a participatory design study consisting of 5 design workshops with 30 participants, focusing on several decision-making scenarios of SARs in the wild. Through the findings of the PD study, we have discussed 5 directions that could aid the design of decision-making systems of SARs in the wild.}, booktitle = {CHI 2023 Workshop on Socially Assistive Robots as Decision Makers: Transparency, Motivations, and Intentions}, author = {Eshtiak, Ahmed and Cosio, Laura and Hamari, Juho and Buruk, Oğuz 'Oz'}, year = {2023}, url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.08885}, publisher = {arXiv} }