Designing Artificial Agents: Appearance and Expressivity

Maria Luce Lupetti, Sonya S. Kwak, Dahyun Kang, Ilan Mandel, Wendy Ju, Kim Baraka, Oren Zuckerman, Hadas Erel, Tiago Ribeiro, Danilo Gallo, Maria Antonietta Grasso, Kahyeon Kim, Sure Bak, Maaike Bleeker, Marco C. Rozendaal, Christine P. Lee, Bengisu Cagiltay, Bilge Mutlu

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The design of robotic artifacts, their appearance, and expressivity, are all but trivial. The appearance and expressivity of robots generate social meaning and semantics through a combination of shapes, forms, colors and textures. In robotic artifacts, the tasks, interaction modalities, and expressive qualities are inseparable. There is a constant interplay between surface appearance. and behavior, and movement. How a robot looks and behaves is a communication device, a transmitter of a message which people decode through the perception of animacy and agency. Such complex, dynamic, and multi-modal communication influences how a robot is perceived functionally and socially. In this chapter, we discuss the semantic and semiotics of robot’s appearance and expressivity and how it influences robotic imaginaries and technical development. Then, we provide a collection of eight methods and perspectives illuminating how we can design robots’ appearance and expressivity, accounting for their uniquely situated and dynamic nature.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationDesigning Interactions with Robots
Subtitle of host publicationMethods and Perspectives
EditorsMaria Luce Lupetti, Cristina Zaga, Nazli Cila, Selma Šabanović , Malte F. Jung
PublisherCRC Press
Pages6-37
Number of pages32
ISBN (Electronic)9781040183670
ISBN (Print)9781032442129
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Publication series

NameChapman & Hall/CRC Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Series
PublisherCRC Press

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 selection and editorial matter, Maria Luce Lupetti, Cristina Zaga, Nazli Cila, Selma Šabanović, and Malte F. Jung; individual chapters, the contributors.

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