Exploring behaviours percieved as important to the human-dog bond and their translation to a robotic platform

Katie A. Riddoch*, Roxanne D. Hawkins, Emily S. Cross

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

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Abstract

To facilitate long-term engagement with social robots, robots can be modelled on ‘successful’ social animals – specifically, pet dogs. Unfortunately, scientific understanding is limited to qualities of dogs that are ‘liked’, opposed to behaviours that facilitate and maintain the human-dog bond. To better understand dog behaviours that are important for building bonds between owner and pet, we collected open-ended responses from dog owners (n=153). Thematic analysis identified 7 behaviour categories: the importance of 1) attunement, 2) communication, 3) consistency and predict-ability, 4) physical affection, 5) positivity and enthusiasm, 6) proximity, and 7) shared activities. We consider the feasibility of translating dog behaviours into a robotic platform, and potential barriers moving forward. In addition to providing insight into important behaviours for human-dog bonding, this work provides a springboard for those hoping to implement dog behaviours into animal-like agents, avatars, and robots.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 4th UK-RAS Conference for PhD Students & Early-Career Researchers on “Robotics at Home”
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jun 2021
Event4th UK-RAS Conference for PhD Students & Early-Career Researchers on “Robotics at Home” - Online
Duration: 2 Jun 2021 → …
https://www.ukras.org/news-and-events/uk-ras/

Conference

Conference4th UK-RAS Conference for PhD Students & Early-Career Researchers on “Robotics at Home”
Abbreviated titleUKRAS21
Period2/06/21 → …
Internet address

Keywords

  • dog behaviour
  • social robots
  • biomimetics
  • human-animal interaction
  • HRI
  • HAI

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