Claudia Kalb has covered the science of genius,
Pablo Picasso, and Leonardo da Vinci for National
Geographic. Yves Gellie photographed Pitcairn
Island for the French edition of the magazine.eye contact and social skills.
Cognitive psychologist Maribel Pino, executive
director of the Broca Living Lab at the Broca Hos-
pital (Greater Paris University Hospitals), one of
the locations where pictures were taken, describes
the engagement of the people photographed with
the robots as authentic. After people spent time
with a robot, many became attached to it.
As the field grows, scientists aim to better
understand human-robot dynamics. Do robots
offer an advantage because they aren’t judgmen-
tal? Is a lack of emotion helpful? Will patients
lose interest?
One benefit is clear, Scassellati says: Robots can
provide personalized, on-demand care—and the
need for that will only increase in the future. jROBOT THERAPY 141