Children love the robot dog, seniors prefer the electric guinea pig

Social robots appeal to children and can be beneficial for older people, say robotics researchers at Tampere University. In Hervanta there is the Robostudio, home to a trick-performing robot dog, a clicking cat droid and a calming electric guinea pig. You can meet them at an event in Tampere in March.

Photos, video and text: Petri Kangas / Business Tampere

“I would like to promote physical activity, especially in nature. Robots a bit like our Spot. Capable machines that people could take outdoors for hikes or even wilderness trips without them giving up halfway. I would also like to see robots manufactured in Finland,” says University Lecturer Aino Ahtinen.

Ahtinen works at the Robostudio on the Hervanta campus of Tampere University.

Spot is a yellow-shelled robot dog manufactured by Boston Dynamics.

The researchers in question in Hervanta focus specifically on social robots.

“A simple definition of a social robot is that it has interaction capabilities built in, using voice, gestures and touch. They can act as companions, support teaching or assist in customer service. They enhance wellbeing. Spot itself is actually unsocial, but we use it for social purposes,” Ahtinen explains.

After about a hundred push-ups, the children realised it was better to give up.

Ahtinen, her colleague postdoctoral researcher Salla Jarske, and Spot often appear at events. Children love Spot.

“At a children’s sports camp at Varala Sports Institute we organised a push-up contest. After about a hundred push-ups, the children realised it was better to give up. In another event, a speed contest, the children easily beat Spot. It is actually quite slow, which is a safety feature,” Ahtinen recalls.

Older people, meanwhile, enjoy stroking the cat and guinea pig robots.

“The guinea pig is very simple. The interaction is basic: it reacts to touch, makes small sounds and can calm people down,” Ahtinen says.

Jarske’s doctoral dissertation, completed a year ago, combines two research fields: human-centred design and ethnomethodological interaction research. The dissertation examines the sociality of robots and their potential to interact with humans.

Working-age audiences can meet Spot in March at the Ping Tampere event. It is a technology event held in Tampere that brings together companies, researchers, students and visionaries to discuss the future. The event focuses in particular on the convergence of technologies and so-called physical AI, such as learning, connected and interactive machines.