“…Elizabeth Croft, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of British Columbia, has done a study in which humans and robotic arms pass objects back and forth — a skill that would be important for a robot caregiver to get right. She has found that if a robot and a human reach for the same object simultaneously, and the robot never hesitates or varies its speed, people think the robot is being rude. When the robot makes little jerky motions and slows down, according to Croft, people actually describe this disembodied arm as considerate — maybe even a little shy.”
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