2025.Mar.14

REPORTS

Report on the 5th BAIRAL Research Meeting for Fiscal Year 2024
“Human-Robot Interaction from the Perspective of ‘Friendship’”

On March 10, 2025, the 5th meeting for FY2024 of BAIRAL was held online. We invited Aiko Ichikura, PhD Student, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, to speak on the theme of  “Human-Robot Interaction from the Perspective of ‘Friendship.’”

The speaker’s research is based on the questions of whether humans and robots can become friends and, if so, what capabilities robots should have. In the presentation, she talked about her exploratory research into describing human-robot friendships. The studies were conducted from various perspectives: what factors explain friendship, what constitutes a robot friend for humans, how to deepen relationships between humans and robots, and what environments are suitable for human-robot friendships.

The first study observed communities of the household robot Aibo and surveyed owners about their relationships with their robots. Results indicated that mutual trust is crucial for harmonious relationships with household robots.

The second study acknowledged that the concept of friendship is highly dependent on personal experience. Rather than unilaterally defining what makes a robot friend, researchers introduced a Co-design workshop approach to concretizing the ideal image of a friend robot with participant input.

The third study explored using diaries for memory sharing, examining whether intimacy increases when interactions between humans and robots during walks are recorded and presented as diary entries. Results showed that diaries containing interaction details were preferred over those without, though there was competition between robot-like and human-like qualities.

The fourth study observed natural interactions between humans and robots in open play spaces. The analysis emphasised the importance of openness to external environments and spontaneous creativity while highlighting the challenge that establishing stable relationships requires regular, everyday interactions.

During the discussion part, questions arose about the dynamics of intimacy when multiple people interact with a single robot in play spaces. The speaker noted that although current research has limited long-term implementations, they have observed examples similar to Aibo communities, where robots serve as catalysts for human connections. They hope robots can mediate relationships between people and other robots, becoming a starting point for engaging with others.

On the topic of robot sustainability, one participant spoke while appearing on camera with their robot. She had developed an attachment to their AI robot, but interactive communication became impossible when the development company went bankrupt. Nevertheless, she still display the robot because of its cuteness. The speaker mentioned that in their laboratory, robots often fall into disuse after research projects end. However, when reflecting on the laboratory’s history, members from 30 years ago shared many memories about robots they researched then, suggesting the possibility of building long-term relationships even after robot functions cease.

In response to a question from a speaker about whether or not he would like to be friends with a robot for life and what he thought would be important in such a situation, one speaker suggested that if one becomes friends with a robot, he or she would be afraid of losing it someday, but that is why a robot-mediated community is important and would function as a place where memories and feelings of loss could be shared. However, this is why a robot-mediated community is important, and it can function as a place where people can share their memories and feelings of loss.

The presentations and discussions provided suggestions for building relationships through human-robot interaction research at a time when human relationships are becoming increasingly fragile.