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Dogs teach us something new every day. Soon, robot dogs may be doing the same.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland set out to understand what traits could help humans bond with robots. Unfortunately, replicating human behavior is difficult, so researchers went with something simpler: Enter man’s best friend.
As reported by Science Daily, the bond between dogs and humans has many benefits. As such, “some researchers are exploring the possibility of developing dog-inspired robots that can form similar bonds with humans.” However, doing so required understanding what dog behaviors “facilitate human-dog bonds.”
What Traits Cause Humans and Dogs to Bond?
To investigate, Katie Riddoch, the study’s principal author, and her team surveyed 153 dog parents. The open-ended questions asked parents what traits they felt helped build and maintain the bonds between them and their dogs.
Not surprisingly, the responses were varied but fell into similar groups. Overall, the survey identified seven categories that most owners felt were necessary for connection:
- Shared activities. Basically any type of play.
- Proximity: following you around from room to room, or staying close and checking in on walks.
- Communication. This includes head tilting in response to listening or barking for attention. This category also includes nudging for attention or placing a toy on the dog parent’s lap.
- Physical touch: Licking, cuddling, rubbing, and pawing were just a few examples.
- Consistency. Always coming when called, or joyfully welcoming you home.
- Positivity and enthusiasm: tail-wagging, spinning in circles, and jumping.
- Attunement: This is a dog being aware of your routine and needs. For example, waiting in bed for you, or staying close by when you’re sad.
The team behind the study says this information is helpful for them to build robots that will more easily bond with humans. For now, the next step is creating a model robot dog, and observing how humans interact with it.
Down the road, the study’s authors hope that building robot dogs that connect with people will be useful in mitigating loneliness and social isolation, especially among aging populations.
