Abstract:

In recent years, rapid developments in artificial intelligence, robotic systems, and autonomous technologies have made Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) an important field of research both academically and socially. The use of robots is increasingly expanding across various sectors, including services, healthcare, manufacturing, and education. These developments make it essential to understand academicians’ perceptions, acceptance levels, and attitudes toward robotic technologies. Academicians’ attitudes toward such technologies can influence both their research orientations and the integration of new technologies into educational processes.

Investigating academicians’ attitudes toward human–robot interaction is also important for understanding the effects of technological transformation on higher education institutions. Today, artificial intelligence and robotic technologies are rapidly spreading across many areas such as healthcare, manufacturing, services, education, and research. Universities play a critical role in developing these technologies, implementing them, and transferring them to society. Academicians’ attitudes toward robotic technologies may directly affect their use in research projects, their integration into course content, and students’ awareness of emerging technologies. Therefore, identifying academicians’ perceptions and attitudes toward human–robot interaction constitutes an important research area for understanding the direction of technological transformation in higher education.

The aim of this study is to determine academicians’ attitudes toward human–robot interaction and to examine how these attitudes differ according to various demographic and professional variables. The study was conducted with 650 academicians working at Istanbul University–Cerrahpaşa. In order to reveal individuals’ situational negative attitudes toward robot machines, the Negative Attitudes toward Robots Scale developed by Nomura et al. (2006), consisting of 14 items and three sub-dimensions, was used. Since the data showed a normal distribution, the independent samples t-test was used for comparisons between two groups, while ANOVA was employed for comparisons among three or more groups. The results indicated that female academicians, those aged between 45–55, professors, individuals with 25 years or more professional experience, and academicians working in the field of social sciences had significantly higher negative attitude scores toward robots.

The findings are expected to contribute to the literature by revealing academicians’ perspectives on robotic technologies in the field of human–robot interaction. Furthermore, the results may provide guidance for the integration of robotic technologies into education, research, and practical applications within universities. In this context, understanding academicians’ attitudes toward robotic technologies may contribute to designing more effective academic and professional environments in which humans and robots will increasingly collaborate in the future.

Keywords:

Human–Robot Interaction, Academics, Statistical Analysis.