Halloween is not all cobwebs and zombies - research at the 51萝莉 is uncovering how robots are edging into spooky territory at University鈥檚 first-ever Nerdfest this Halloween.
Robot student ambassadors have been helping researchers understand how robots freak people out and KettyBot, Marshmallow, was on show at the University鈥檚 Halloween-themed Nerdfest, alongside other spooky tech.
More than 500 people attended the event including children with their families, high school students and the general community.
Dr Jessica Turner, Lecturer and Programme Lead at Au Reikura School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, says Nerdfest was about having fun and profiling the work of computer and mathematical science students. It was also an opportunity for people to learn more about how tech and robots are becoming an integral part of our everyday life.
"There鈥檚 a huge shortage of qualified people working in robotics, so we鈥檝e launched Nerdfest this Halloween to show students computer science isn鈥檛 sitting behind a computer screen. If our spooky robots can spark someone鈥檚 interest in a tech career, that鈥檚 a win for us."
Dr Jessica Turner.
She says as more robots are developed to support our industries it鈥檚 important to understand 鈥榗reepy tech鈥� and how to make robots relatable and user friendly.
鈥淲ith robots you can start heading towards what we call 鈥榯he uncanny valley鈥�, where they start to creep people out,鈥� says Dr Turner. The 鈥榰ncanny valley鈥� describes a phenomenon where humans have a negative emotional response to a non-human figure, such as a robot, that has a human likeness.
鈥淚t鈥檚 doesn鈥檛 have to be human either. We have little robotic dogs and while their body is clearly robotic the heads look like dogs and people find that confusing and creepy.鈥�
Dr Turner says robotics has huge potential to support people, but people don鈥檛 like to use things that make them feel uneasy.
鈥淲ith robots that can assist people there are things like the privacy concerns around data. If people are conversing with the robot and that鈥檚 being recorded, they have concerns around where the data is going and who has access to it.鈥�
鈥淯nderstanding why people find things creepy helps us design robots that more people will engage with,鈥� says Dr Turner.
Dr Turner says the University has already found the novelty effect of the KettyBots at University events like Open Days and Orientation has led to more student engagement, suggesting robots are useful in educational settings.
Student designers have helped code animations on Marshmallow鈥檚 tummy that can tell students about programmes, and, on their backs, they have service trays for printed materials and giveaways. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quirky and fun and students think, 鈥極h I鈥檒l take something from a robot that I wouldn鈥檛 necessarily take from a person,鈥欌�� says Dr Turner.
Alongside Marshmallow, Nerdfest also profiled a 'Broomba', a robotic vacuum cleaner engineered to look like a flying broomstick, and staff-designed 3D-printed pumpkins and ghosts complete with sound and light features that respond as people approach them.
