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COVID-19 has radically changed society as we know it. To reduce the spread of the virus, millions across the globe have been forced to work remotely, often in make-shift home offices, and using a plethora of new, unfamiliar digital technologies. In this article, we critically analyse cyber security and privacy concerns arising due to remote working during the coronavirus pandemic. Through our work, we discover a series of security risks emerging because of the realities of this period. For instance, lack of remote-working security training, heightened stress and anxiety, rushed technology deployment, and the presence of untrusted individuals in a remote-working environment (e.g., in flatshares), can result in new cyber-risk. Simultaneously, we find that as organisations look to manage these and other risks posed by their remote workforces, employee's privacy (including personal information and activities) is often compromised. This is apparent in the significant adoption of remote workplace monitoring, management and surveillance technologies. Such technologies raise several privacy and ethical questions, and further highlight the tension between security and privacy going forward., HCI International 2021 (HCII 2021)

Cyber crime is rising at an unprecedented rate. Organisations are spending more than ever combating the human element through training and other interventions, such as simulated phishing. Organisations employ “carrots” (rewards) and “sticks” (sanctions) to reduce risky behaviour. Sanctions (such as locking computers and informing one’s line manager) are problematic as they lead to unintended consequences towards employee trust and productivity. This study explored how organisations use rewards and sanctions both in their campaigns and specifically following simulated phishing. We also assessed what factors (such as control over rewards, tendency to blame users) influenced security awareness professionals’ use of rewards and sanctions. The findings revealed that organisations use a variety of rewards and sanctions within their campaigns, with sanctions being used across 90% of the organisations. We did not find any factors that influence security awareness professionals’ usage of rewards and sanctions. Our findings suggest the need for a greater consideration of the human element of cyber security. In particular, campaigns should take a more informed approach to use of behaviour change strategies that consider the organisational structure in which they are implemented and the role (and influence) of security awareness professionals within that structure.

Biomimetic robots that resemble companion animals, and that replicate aspects of animal social behavior, could play a useful therapeutic role in the treatment of disorders such as anxiety and depression, and could act as an alternative or complement to animal-assisted therapy (AAT). Previous work in AAT has noted the importance of feelings of care, love, self-esteem to the success of a therapeutic animal intervention. These feelings, alongside safety, have been measured in human-human interaction studies using a questionnaire-based measure called the Felt Security Scale (FSS). This paper presents the translation of the FSS into Japanese in order to produce a cross-cultural instrument for evaluating the effectiveness of robot-assisted therapy (RAT). We describe the development of the new Japanese Felt Security Scale (JFSS), its validation with native Japanese speakers, and a comparison of outcomes as measured against the Japanese Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (Japanese ECR). We propose that the FSS provides a useful tool for investigating the effectiveness of biomimetic robots as therapeutic tools in English- and Japanese-speaking cultural settings.

Complex autonomous interactions, biomimetic appearances, and responsive behaviours are increasingly seen in social robots. These features, by design or otherwise, may substantially influence young children’s beliefs of a robot’s animacy. Young children are believed to hold naive theories of animacy, and can miscategorise objects as living agents with intentions; however, this develops with age to a biological understanding. Prior research indicates that children frequently categorise a responsive humanoid as being a hybrid of person and machine; although, with age, children tend towards classifying the humanoid as being more machine-like. Our current research explores this phenomenon, using an unobtrusive method: recording childrens conversational interaction with the humanoid and classifying indications of animacy beliefs in childrens questions asked. Our results indicate that established findings are not an artefact of prior research methods: young children tend to converse with the humanoid as if it is more animate than older children do.

Social robots are becoming more sophisticated; in many cases they offer complex, autonomous interactions, responsive behaviors, and biomimetic appearances. These features may have significant impact on how people perceive and engage with robots; young children may be particularly influenced due to their developing ideas of agency. Young children are considered to hold naive beliefs of animacy and a tendency to mis-categorise moving objects as being alive but, with development, children can demonstrate a biological understanding of animacy. We experimentally explore the impact of children’s age and a humanoid’s movement on children’s perceptions of its animacy.

Long-term health risks associated with unhealthy lifestyles present a significant current and future burden for healthcare providers. Adolescence represents a critical time for intervention, as habits formed during this period can persist throughout adult life. Given the prevalence of gaming as an entertainment medium amongst adolescents, and subsequent potential for engagement, the use of serious games to promote changes in lifestyle behaviour offers a potential solution. Creating such games requires a breadth of multidisciplinary expertise, working collaboratively to create research-informed designs which reflect both behavioural theory and entertainment game design best practices. In this chapter, challenges and benefits associated with multidisciplinary design are identified and discussed, with strategies presented to overcome and avoid potential issues. With reference to a current project, the perspectives of the theorist, iterative designer, and game developer are contrasted, providing a reference for future projects implementing multidisciplinary approaches to serious game design.

This paper explores three fundamental attributes of the Robokind Zeno-R25 (its status as person or machine, its ‘gender’, and intensity of its simulated facial expressions) and their impact on children’s perceptions of the robot, using a one-sample study design. Results from a sample of 37 children indicate that the robot is perceived as being a mix of person and machine, but also strongly as a male figure. Children could label emotions of the robot’s simulated facial-expressions but perceived intensities of these expressions varied. The findings demonstrate the importance of establishing fundamentals in user views towards social robots in supporting advanced arguments of social human-robot interaction.

The Expressive Agents for Symbiotic Education and Learning project explores human-robot symbiotic interaction with the aim to understand the development of symbiosis over long-term tutoring interactions. The final EASEL system will be built upon the neurobiologically grounded architecture - Distributed Adaptive Control. In this paper, we present the design of an interaction scenario to support development of the DAC, in the context of a synthetic tutoring assistant. Our humanoid robot, capable of life-like simulated facial expressions, will interact with children in a public setting to teach them about exercise and energy. We discuss the range of measurements used to explore children’s responses during, and experiences of, interaction with a social, expressive robot.

Human robot interaction (HRI) often considers the human impact of a robot serving to assist a human in achieving their goal or a shared task. There are many circumstances though during HRI in which a robot may make errors that are inconvenient or even detrimental to human partners. Using the ROBOtic GUidance and Interaction DEvelopment (ROBO-GUIDE) model on the Pioneer LX platform as a case study, and insights from social psychology, we examine key factors for a robot that has made such a mistake, ensuring preservation of individuals’ perceived competence of the robot, and individuals’ trust towards the robot. We outline an experimental approach to test these proposals.

In this paper we describe a novel scenario, whereby an assistive robot is required to use a lift, and results from a preliminary investigation into floor determination using readily-available information. The aim being to create an assistive robot that can naturally integrate into existing infrastructure.

Human-Robot-Interaction HRI research is often built around the premise that the robot is serving to assist a human in achieving a human-led goal or shared task. However, there are many circumstances during HRI in which a robot may need the assistance of a human in shared tasks or to achieve goals. We use the ROBO-GUIDE model as a case study, and insights from social psychology, to examine two factors of user trust and situational ambiguity which may impact promote human user assistance towards a robot. These factors are argued to determine the likelihood of human assistance arriving, individuals' perceived competence of the robot, and individuals' trust towards the robot. We outline an experimental approach to test these proposals.

Recently, the concept of a 'companion robot' as a healthcare tool has been popularised, and even commercialised. We present MIRO, a robot that is biomimetic in aesthetics, morphology, behaviour, and control architecture. In this paper, we review how these design choices affect its suitability for a companionship role. In particular, we consider how emulation of the familiar body language and other emotional expressions of mammals may facilitate effective communication with naive users through the reliable evocation of intended perceptions of emotional state and intent. We go on to present a brief pilot study addressing the question of whether shared cultural signals can be relied upon, similarly, as components of communication systems for companion robots. Such studies form part of our ongoing effort to understand and quantify human responses to robot expressive behaviour and, thereby, develop a methodology for optimising the design of social robots by accounting for individual and cultural differences.

Contemporary robot design is influenced both by task domain (e.g., industrial manipulation versus social interaction) as well as by classification differences in humans (e.g., therapy patients versus museum visitors). As the breadth of robot use increases, we ask how will people respond to the ever increasing number of intelligent artefacts in their environment. Using the Paro robot as our case study we propose an analysis of individual differences in HRI to highlight the consequences individual characteristics have on robot performance. We discuss to what extent human-human interactions are a useful model of HRI.

The Expressive Agents for Symbiotic Education and Learning (EASEL) project will explore human-robot symbiotic interaction (HRSI) with the aim of developing an understanding of symbiosis over long term tutoring interactions. The EASEL system will be built upon an established and neurobiologically grounded architecture - Distributed Adaptive Control (DAC). Here we present the design of an initial experiment in which our facially expressive humanoid robot will interact with children at a public exhibition. We discuss the range of measurements we will employ to explore the effects our robot’s expressive ability has on interaction with children during HRSI, with the aim of contributing optimal robot personality parameters to the final EASEL model.

In the original publication of the paper the author “Abigail Millings” was erroneously omitted from the author list. It should read as