ABSTRACT
There can be no question: instructional technology has advanced incredibly over the years. In 1965, Moore projected the density of circuits in computers would double roughly every two years, effectively doubling the processing power of computers; this has since come to be known as Moore’s Law. Such circuit density and use of new materials and technologies have also produced remarkable advances in accessible memory and storage devices (Princess Megabyte, 2012; Cocilova, 2013). As a result, computers became both more powerful and smaller, enabling mobile and wearable computers, such as smartwatches, smartglasses, and other Internet-compatible devices.1 Robotics is a field focusing on using computer technologies to create thinking machines, increasingly in the form of mobile and independent robots.2 It explores how such robots might take on various responsibilities previously handled by humans. While use of robots has made great inroads in industrial settings (Wallén, 2008), researchers are now exploring how “sociable” robots might be utilized in interactive settings with humans, a research area known as “human-robot interaction” (HRI; see Kidd, 2003). HRI researchers report substantial progress in helping robots relate to humans and humans relate to robots, focusing on robots’ evidencing and recognizing facial expressions, receiving and giving touch, using and recognizing gestures, and employing and recognizing speech and intonation (see, for example, Ho & MacDorman, 2010; Mubin et al., 2010; Al Moubayed, Beskow, Skantze & Granström, 2012; Zlotowski, Proudfoot & Bartneck, 2013). HRI applications currently being explored include handling childcare/eldercare and serving in teaching situations (Fridin, 2014).
