How Bizarre Animals

Dogs pick up robots’ social cues

Machines seem more like people after human interaction

PeopleBot

ROBOT MASTER  The PeopleBot may not look much like a human, but some dogs would follow its directions if they had seen the robot interacting with humans beforehand.

Courtesy of Eniko Kubinyi

By Meghan Rosen

- More than 2 years ago

The Jetsons’ robotic maid, Rosie, could give machines a lesson in social skills. Dogs were more likely to pay attention to a PeopleBot robot — a machine with a laptop head and Mickey Mouse–style hands — after watching it walk, talk and shake hands with humans.