Special Issue of STI-Studies 1/2014 on "Social Robots and Artificial Companions" online available [23.01.2014]

"Social robots" and "artificial companions" are labels for technological developments in an early stage (new and emerging technologies), which in some cases are already advanced enough to be tested and used in specific application fields of everyday life. For social scientists, this new strand of research and the introduction of these technologies in society offer a wealth of interesting research questions. A particularly exciting field of research is where the interests of roboticists and social scientists overlap. While roboticists are searching for adequate psychological, socio-psychological, and sociological knowledge when designing artifacts for real world use, some social scientists and STS-scholars are eager to get their knowledge applied aiming to influence the development process. Contesting the promises and expectations is of course one legitimate option among others to exert influence. 

The issue, edited by Knud Böhle and Michaela Pfadenhauer, brings together nine original contributions, most of them from a sociological perspective. Knud Böhle and Kolja Bopp, both ITAS, contributed a "vision assessment".

Bibliographic reference:

Böhle, K.; Pfadenhauer, M. (eds.)
Of Social Robots and Artificial Companions. Contributions from the Social Sciences. Science, Technology & Innovation Studies 10(2014)1
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