Cognition-Enabled Robots Assist in Care and Everyday Life: Perspectives, Challenges, and Current Views and Insights

Abstract

Abstract The chapter focuses on research on robotic assistants and the involved challenge of their manipulating the physical world. It describes the state of the art in this regard and outlines directions for future research. Furthermore, it reports how the Delphi respondents assess various facets of human–robot communication and how specifically the group of scientists from engineering and natural sciences assesses the further technical development of 13 robotic skills. For this aspect, we asked for the experts’ assessment of the points in time when robots will presumably be capable of demonstrating such skills. The list of examples includes cognitive and communicative skills and skills that relate to motion, autonomous navigation, and the performance of everyday activities at home/in elderly care. In addition, the chapter reports on findings from the population survey. It particularly reveals the relative importance that people allocate to the skills of care robots. It underlines the importance of considering the impact of the physical design of a robot on its social perception and acceptance.