Is the technical literature from the public library already borrowed? What should I do if I have lost my identity card? Which room do I have to go to when I want to apply for my resident's ID card? In the future, questions like these could be answered in administrative offices or libraries by so-called social robots, for which a system is currently being programmed in which The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) is also involved.
Five partners with different competencies are forming a research alliance that will build up the competence centre for social robotics in the Ruhr region over the next three years - "RuhrBots" for short. Involved are, besides the HSNR, the Hochschule Ruhr West,
the Hochschule für Verwaltung und Polizei NRW, the Evangelische Hochschule Nürnberg and the Fraunhofer-InHaus-Zentrum. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing 4 million euros as part of the "Together through Innovation" program. Of the funding amount, around 523,000 euros will go to the HSNR.
The "RuhrBots" team is researching how well social robots in city administrations are adapted to the needs of visitors, what hurdles exist and what needs to happen so that such assistance systems are really accepted and willingly used. The systems to be developed will be tested, for example, in the city libraries of Bottrop and Duisburg.
It is no coincidence that the network is focusing on the Ruhr region: In no other region is the population so diverse. The diversity in education, age, culture and income makes for exciting research questions.
"Artificial intelligence will be used to take into account different languages, emotions, moods as well as gestures and facial expressions of all groups of people," says Professor Dr. Edwin Naroska from the university's own competence center FAST. After all, many a robotic system still comes up against its technical limits. Headscarves, medical masks, wheelchairs - due to language barriers, physical limitations or special cultural backgrounds, some people have different concerns, fears and wishes than others. That modern robotic systems recognize this is a major concern for the research team. "We want to create a system that enables smooth interaction with different users and includes everyone," Naroska says.
Before the systems are tested in real operation in libraries, there are trial runs. This is where The Hochschule Niederrhein comes in: The FAST Competence Center develops showrooms and real labs for this purpose. In the technical implementation, it contributes software and hardware and takes care of data protection issues.
Later on, the social robots will primarily provide orientation and act as contacts in the reception or waiting area. They could explain procedures or name room numbers. It would also be conceivable to develop a reading robot for children. Ideally, it would already know what the young visitors have borrowed so far - and could select a suitable book.
Visitors could also be asked about their satisfaction on site. "It would be exciting to know whether they are more willing to express criticism or wishes to a robot instead of real personnel," Naroska says. Bachelor's and master's students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are accompanying the project as salaried employees.
Such assistance systems cannot and should not replace administrative staff, but they can be a good supplement in times of a shortage of skilled workers. The technology developed could also be made available to companies and other external parties after the degree of the funded project.
