Anthropomorphism in social robotics: empirical results on human–robot interaction in hybrid production workplaces

New forms of artificial intelligence on the one hand and the ubiquitous networking of “everything with everything” on the other hand characterize the fourth industrial revolution. This results in a changed understanding of human–machine interaction, in new models for production, in which man and machine together with virtual agents form hybrid teams. The empirical study “Socializing with robots” aims to gain insight especially into conditions of development and processes of hybrid human–machine teams. In the experiment, human–robot actions and interactions were closely observed in a virtual environment. Robots as partners differed in shape and behavior (reliable or faulty). Participants were instructed to achieve an objective that could only be achieved via close teamwork. This paper unites different aspects from core disciplines of social robotics and psychology contributing to anthropomorphization with the empirical insights of the experiment. It focuses on the psychological effects (e.g. reactions of different personality types) on anthropomorphization and mechanization, taking the inter- and transdisciplinary field of social robotics as a starting point.