A very special chance to explore the intriguing possibilities of the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), A Conversation with a Robot marks Pepper the Robot’s public debut in Canberra.

The SoftBank Pepper robot is the most advanced Artificial Intelligence-driven retail robot in the world.

Visit this installation to explore the fascinating world of AI by posing thought-provoking questions and discussions to Pepper, as you experience the limitless potential of human-robot interaction.

All ages will be able to converse one-on-one with Pepper, but above-18s will also have a chance to be part of a larger study that will drive a better understanding of the interaction between humans and robots – your insights will help shape the future of AI tech itself!

The project team is helmed by the University of Canberra Associate Professor Dr Damith Herath, who leads multidisciplinary robotic research projects at UC’s Faculty of Science and Technology. He is the founding Co-Chair of the International Workshop on Robotics and Art.

Damith will be collaborating with Psychologist and Senior Lecturer Dr Janie Busby Grant from the Faculty of Health at UC as well as Associate Professor Jenny Davis, a Sociologist at ANU – A Conversation with a Robot builds on their extensive multidisciplinary work on human-robot interaction, in many different contexts.

“Conversing with Pepper going to be a really different experience from interacting with – obviously – another human, but even with a chatbot or online presence,” says Damith.

“A Conversation with a Robot is a great chance for us to observe humans and robots interacting ‘in the wild’ – and for everyone to experience the amazing capabilities of AI and robotics!”

Presented by the University of Canberra, Collaborative Robotics Lab, Faculty of Science and Technology and the Role-Taking Project.

Sponsored by SoftBank Robotics