Special issue on: Going beyond the laboratory—reconsidering the ELS implications of autonomous robots

Excerpt

For more than three decades, robots have played a key role in industrial manufacturing. In other application fields, robots have replaced humans in hazardous jobs or served to alleviate the burden on those in knowledge-intensive professions. Robot technologies have even become indispensable in the field of warfare: they are deployed to clear land mines or as remotely controlled weapons such as combat drones (Sullins 2011). By contrast, recent developments in robotics highlight interactions with ordinary people. Service and welfare robots are making the transition from laboratory experiments to practical applications in multiple areas of life. It is generally assumed that in an ageing society, they will increasingly be used as service providers or social companions in everyday life situations (Wilks 2010; Feil-Seifer and Mataric 2011). Some of these robots are developed as humanoids, that is, machines that resemble human beings and/or are able to emulate human actions. If it seems helpful in facilitating their smooth interaction with lay users, they are designed to replicate emotional expressions and other aspects of human communication. …