Organization: University of Debrecen
Categorization: Social sciences and Humanities
Research group leader: Dr. Csilla Csukonyi
Mission
The Digital Interactions Research Group at the Institute of Psychology (University of Debrecen, Faculty of Arts) was formed to study nowadays digital-based communications and human-robot interactions.
Introduction
The Digital Interactions Research Group at the Institute of Psychology (University of Debrecen, Faculty of Arts) was formed to study nowadays digital-based communications and human-robot interactions. The aim of the research group is to examine the psychological aspects of the use of artificial intelligence in the following two main areas:
1. Investigation of the psychological aspects and components of Human-Robot Interactions (HRI), which on the one hand studies individual differences in human interactions with different robots, including in the areas of attitudes toward robots and effective communication. On the other hand, research into the application possibilities of human-robot and human-artificial intelligence agent interactions is primarily in the workplace environment. All this in line with the development and promotion of ethical (respecting social, emotional needs and human values) human-robot relationships.
2. Investigate Human-to-Human interactions via computers and other digital devices, in particular in the areas of e-sports, gaming, home office and online work, the effectiveness of online workgroups and the leadership characteristics of such workgroups. Examining the development and psychological aspects of digital competencies that reflect today’s challenges is a priority area. In March 2022, a “newcomer-member” of the research team, the world’s smallest humanoid robot, a programmable Nao robot with artificial intelligence and even Deep Learning, arrived at the Institute (with Faculty support). Therefore, we are also able to study human-robot interactions with experimental psychological methods with the appropriate ethical permissions. Other collaboration opportunities of the research group focus on the phenomena of trust, responsibility and reliability within Human-Robot interactions. Looking to future plans, the research team's areas of research include exploring the human factors (situational awareness, reliability issues, monotony tolerance, and control location) associated with self-driving cars, autonomous vehicles (AV), driver-less cars or even robotic cars (robo-cars).