Industrial robots are already working in many factories around the world and in our homes, for instance as smart vacuum cleaners. Scientists say in a few years we will start seeing so-called “social rebots，” capable of engaging with people.
Today’s robots can build cars and explore underwater objects. But interacting with people is more complex than simply taking an incoming message, says Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Cynthia Breazeal.
“Social robots really interact with people in ways you feel like you’e interacting with someone rather than something,” she said .’’And social robots are really designed to engage you in much more of an interaction that feels like a cooperation or partnership.”