‘Heart Robot’, a public engagement project

Heart Robot was a public engagement project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The aim of the project was to challenge cultural perceptions of robots, and to stimulate thought and debate in members of the general public around research in the field of social and emotional robotics. Fusing the traditions of Bunraku puppetry, the technology of animatronics and the field of artificial emotion and social intelligence, Heart Robot presented a series of entertaining, thought-provoking, and moving performances at fourteen events in the south-west region of the UK between May and December 2008. This paper presents a summary of the independent evaluation of the project. Keywords: Robot, Puppet, Public Engagement, Social Robots, Science-art collaboration