Adults are more comfortable with robots working in factories and warehouses than in hospitals or classrooms, according to a global survey commissioned by industrial technology company Hexagon. The study found that 63% of adults were comfortable with robots assisting in factories and warehouses, compared with 45% in hospitals and clinics and 39% in classrooms. Respondents generally preferred robots for physical, repetitive or hazardous work while favouring humans for tasks involving care and responsibility.
Among adults, 68% preferred a robot to lift and transport heavy items, 54% chose robots for carrying and delivery tasks, and 52% favoured them for monitoring hazards. Half preferred robots for cleaning shared spaces and information searches.
Preferences shifted for caregiving. Seventy-one per cent of adults and 67% of children said humans should care for sick or elderly people and children. Robots were preferred for caregiving by 12% of adults and 16% of children, the lowest level recorded among the tasks included in the survey.
Adults said they would primarily use workplace robots to capture measurements or conduct simple research, cited by 53% of respondents. Administrative work was selected by 38%, while 34% identified workplace safety. Among children, 60% wanted robots to help explain school lessons and 48% said they could assist with generating ideas.
Children were more receptive than adults to treating robots as workplace peers. Twenty-one per cent of adults considered robots potential full colleagues, while the proportion among children was about 50% higher. Fourteen per cent of adults said they would be comfortable with robots holding positions of authority. Adult sentiment remained divided, with 40% describing the prospect of a robot colleague as exciting and 38% describing it as frightening.
Exposure to robots also corresponded with differing levels of acceptance. In China, where 75% of adults surveyed said they had encountered robots in person, 63% were comfortable with a robot in the home. The comparable figure in the UK was 32%, where reported exposure was the lowest among the markets surveyed.
Respondents showed a modest preference for machine-like robots, selected by 28% of adults, over human-like designs, chosen by 22%. Clear limits on robots’ permitted activities were considered essential by 86% of adults. Security was cited as a concern by 51%, trust by 26% and reliability by 21%.
“There’s real potential for robots in areas like elderly care or classrooms, but as assistive devices, not as replacements for that essential human role,” said Jim Everett, an associate professor in moral psychology.
The research covered 9,000 adults and 9,000 children aged eight to 18 in the United States, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, China, Brazil and India.
