@inproceedings{walkingrobotdog2024roman, author = {Ahmed, Eshtiak and Genç, Çağlar and Spors, Velvet and Hamari, Juho and Buruk, Oğuz 'Oz'}, title = {Walking Your Robot Dog: Experiences and Lessons Learned}, abstract = {Walking is an integral part of daily human lives which also has a great influence on happiness and wellbeing. Walking with a dog companion is one of the most popular forms of recreational walking that has similar benefits. The recent development of mobile zoomorphic robots, especially robot dogs has opened up new opportunities in the landscape of walking with companions. This led us to investigate how such robots can accompany humans in walking, and how the mobility and behavior of robots in a daily-life walking scenario affect humans’ walking experience. We interviewed nine participants who took a 15–20-minute walk with a companion robot around a university campus, to understand how diverse walking behaviors of a companion robot influence their perceived experiences. We have generated four key themes through thematic analysis. They imply that affective relationalities between humans and robots can build intimacy and empathy, whereas personal space and physical proximity need to be thought carefully to ensure interaction comfort and spontaneity. Additionally, the robot influenced people’s self-reflection and social values refraining them from enjoying an unknown experience, while ambiguity in communication led to less confidence and trust.}, booktitle = {33rd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication}, year = {2024}, pages = {2264-2271}, doi = {10.1109/RO-MAN60168.2024.10731205}, publisher = {IEEExplore}, series = {ROMAN '24} }

@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} }