Aug. 3, 2011 For Immediate Release Contact: Rod JonesStaff Writer/Media Relations

Aug. 3
, 201
1


For Immediate Release


Contact: Rod Jones

Staff Writer/Media Relations

Communications and Marketing Department

(405) 208
-
5347 or rod.jones@okcu.edu


Leslie Berger

Assistant Director for Media Relations

Communications and Marketing
Department

(405) 208
-
5348 or lberger@okcu.edu


National
Workshop

Led By OCU Professors Will

Examine Robot Ethics


OKLAHOMA CITY

—
Two faculty members from Oklahoma City University and one
from Southern New Hampshire University have organized
a

full
-
day workshop on
human
-
r
obot
i
nteraction
in elder c
are.

The workshop is scheduled to take place in San Francisco
Aug. 8 during

the
25th

annual conference on artificial intelligence sponsored by the Association for the
Advancement of Artificial Intelli
gence (AAAI).

Dr. Susan Barnes and Dr. Ted Metzler

from

OCU, working with

Dr. Lundy Lewis

at
SNHU, brought together researchers from Japan, Sing
apore, New Zealand

and U.S. universities
from

four states to share and discuss information concerning an emergi
ng technology known as
“assistive robotics.”
Technology companies

are working to

develop robots capable of assisting
with the health care of
the growing number

of older people in many nations. Presentations at the
workshop will focus
on

topics concerning
human
-
robot interaction (HRI) in elder care

including
HRI and quality of life in elder care
,
effects of human age in HRI
,
human
-
like spatial language
for HRI
,
a general perceptual model for eldercare robots

and the
ethics of using PARO (a robotic
seal pup)

with dementia patients
.

In addition, a special keynote presentation dealing with “machine ethics” in applicatio
n to
elder care will feature a live

demonstration of a walking humanoid robot that is capable of using
moral reasoning while it reminds elderly
people to take their medications.

W
orkshop organizers also have produced accompanying promotional material and

a
Facebook

group website

called

“HRI in Elder Care,” which they expect to use after completion
of the workshop for conducting ongoing follow
-
up d
ialogue.

For more information about the AAAI conference
,

visit the link:

http://www.aaai.org/Conferences/AAAI/aaai11.php

###