Disputation: Rebekka Soma

Doctoral candidate Rebekka Soma at the Department of Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, is defending the thesis Does a Robot Lawnmower Know Anything About Grass? A Phenomenological Gaze on Human-Robot Interactions for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor.

Bildet kan inneholde: briller, panne, hår, briller, nese.

Trial lecture

"Human-Robot Interactions - Current movements and emerging research trends"

Time and place: June 10,  2024 11:15 AM, Small Talk (1416), Ole-Johan Dahls hus

 

Main research findings

Perceiving robots and their operational actions as animate is a commonly described phenomenon within the research field Human–Robot Interaction (HRI). Through a phenomenological gaze on human–robot interactions this thesis contributes four theoretically elucidated concepts: artificial Umwelt, movement acts, datanomy, and kinetic affordances. This thesis’ primary subject of interest springs out from a genuine sense of wonder at the phenomenon of experiencing a robot lawnmower’s actions as meaningful. In the thesis, I demonstrate what it means for human’s interactions with robotic artefacts that they know quite little about their surroundings. For example, a robot lawnmower’s knowledge of grass and mowing is profoundly limited.

 

Further, the work of this thesis highlights some human premises for understanding encounters with this type of technology, especially related to our inclination to perceive the movement of others as meaningful. I explicate three distinct theories that I use to disclose aspects important for understanding the mutual intelligibility between humans and robotic artefacts during interactions.

 

Adjudication committee

  • Professor Emeritus Toni Robertson, Technical University of Sydney, Australia
  • Professor Mikael Wiberg, Institutt for informatikk, Umeå University, Sverige
  • Professor Margunn Aanestad, Institutt for informatikk, Universitetet i Oslo, Norge

Supervisors

  • Professor Tone Bratteteig, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway 

  • Associate Professor Jo Herstad, Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway

Chair of defence:

Associate Professor Ellen Munthe-Kaas

Contact information at Department: Mozhdeh Sheibani Harat 

Publisert 27. mai 2024 09:29 - Sist endret 19. juni 2024 08:42