Embodiment of knowledge into the interaction and physical domains using robots

Robots can do more for the human society than wandering around collecting garbage, entertaining children and playing soccer. In this paper we present an ongoing research toward the realization of robots as embodied knowledge media. In this framework, the robot is used to extract knowledge from expert humans through natural interactions, and then to present this knowledge to other humans who need it. Robots have the potential of working as better knowledge media than passive artifacts or computers mainly because of their unique ability to embody the knowledge into both the interaction and the physical context and their potential of achieving presentation by demonstration which will be more effective in transferring tacit knowledge. In this paper, the robots as knowledge media theoretical framework will be presented with introduction to the ongoing research conducted in our laboratory toward implementing a humanoid robot that can realize it detailing the past and current contributions and proposing the future research map for this important area of robotic applications.