Features of joint attention of a human and an anthropomorphic robot

Abstract

The aim of the article is to compare the process of joint attention between two individuals and between a person and an anthropomorphic robot. Various approaches to defining the concept of "joint attention" are outlined in the review. The peculiarities of the process of joint attention between humans are described: "low-level" and "high-level" joint attention, responding and initiating as forms of joint attention. Four modular components of joint attention according to Baron-Cohen are highlighted: intention detector, gaze direction detector, shared attention mechanism, Theory of Mind. Three main models of human joint attention are presented: universal cognitive, social-cognitive, and multiple-process models.

The article introduces the idea of distinctions in socio-cognitive processes from the second and third person perspectives by Gomez, Hobson, and Reddy, further developed by Siposova and Carpenter, who identified four levels of social attention: monitoring, joint, mutual, and collective. The main directions of research on joint attention among humans are highlighted. It was found that the main advantages of using robots to study joint attention are anthropomorphism, the ability of robots to work autonomously and carry out both verbal and non-verbal communication, to attract and hold attention; the ability to both respond to joint attention and initiate it; the possibility of objective interpretation of stimuli.

The main disadvantages of anthropomorphic robots preventing them from becoming full-fledged co-agents with humans include noise, bulkiness, and lack of agility, as well as differences in facial expressions and movements from human counterparts, and insufficient decision-making abilities. The positive and negative impact of specific robot characteristics is linked to their ease in implementing the "ascending" mechanism of joint attention but facing significant challenges with the "descending" level in the current stage of development.