Drs. Autumn & Chad Edwards, Interacting with Robots

Event Date: 

Thursday, November 10, 2022 - 3:30pm

Event Location: 

  • SSMS 1009

Autumn Edwards, “Human or Machine? Interactive Implications of Ontological Classification”  

Abstract
In this presentation, I will focus on a series of experiments on the human-to-human interaction script, which focuses on people’s expectations and perceptions surrounding initial communication with social robots compared to those they hold for other people. This research will be contextualized within the broader efforts within HMC research to identify and explain the consequences of agent-class cues or ontological considerations on the communication process. 

Dr. Autumn Edwards is a professor in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University, Co-Director of the Communication and Social Robotics Labs, and a Theodore von Kármán Fellow at RWTH Aachen University. She is the Founding Editor of the Human-Machine Communication journal. Dr. Edwards has been named as one of the "Women in Robotics You Need to Know About- 2020."

Chad Edwards, “Robots and AI in the Classroom: Extending Human-Machine Communication (HMC) into Instructional Communication”

Abstract
The classroom has always been a site for experimentation in techniques and strategies. This lecture will discuss several studies demonstrating the classroom as a potential place for HMC theory testing and a potential technological disruptor.

Dr. Chad Edwards is a professor in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University, Co-Director of the Communication and Social Robotics Labs, and a Theodore von Kármán Fellow at RWTH Aachen University. He is a past president of the Central States Communication Association.