8 Crazy Futuristic Science Experiments Happening Right Now
8. Touch My Buttocks Quoth The Robot
People are always harping on about how "sex robots" are a practical inevitability, but scientists are discovering that touching robots on their naughty bits actually makes humans distinctly uncomfortable.
During the study, scientists hooked the participants up to sensors that would measure their stress response as a humanoid robot instructed them to touch various parts of its body, including those parts. According to the readings, the test subjects became increasingly uncomfortable when instructed to touch areas such as the buttocks, crotch and eyes.
The experiments are actually designed to help us understand how we might feel interacting with robots as teachers, carers and companions in the future. The results so far seem to suggest that it would be "awkwardly".
Watch the vaguely uncomfortable footage from one study here.