Cognitive-Social Robotics: Mysteries and Needs

In recent years robotic technology has extended its applications beyond the factory and is now used for more general-purpose practices in society, such as in clinical affairs and rehabilitation, child and elderly care, search and rescue operations, and many other areas. However for robotic technology to be successful in such fields, it is necessary to reach new levels of ability, robustness, physical skills, cognitive ability and intelligence. When designing and constructing social-cognitive robots one faces many challenges, the most significant of which is to build robots which live up to the needs and expectations of the human mind. How we communicate with machines with a higher quality physical appearance and machines which look alive differs from the way we interact with a computer, cell phone, or other smart devices. It is necessary, therefore, to be aware of such differences and know how to take advantage of them. In this paper, we discuss the emerging and interdisciplinary field of cognitive and social robotics, in particular robot assisted treatments, and the effect of modern technology on education(in other words, the application of engineering in education). Moreover, through the introduction of key features and some research topics, several different opportunities to join this scientific field have been suggested.