Bomb disposal soldiers in all geographic areas view their robots almost as pets, according to research conducted by Dr. Julie Carpenter at the University of Washington.

These soldiers take care of the robots that do a great deal of their dirty work, such as bomb disposal. They learn the robots' quirks, what the robot can and cannot do. They train with the robots every day. Then, one day, something goes awry and the robot is blown to pieces, creating a sense of anger and sadness that soldiers have trouble deciphering.

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"They're struggling with how to categorize the robot," Carpenter told Mashable. "On the one hand, they're very clear that it's not something that's organic, and they unanimously define the robot as a tool. But they're still struggling with how to act toward it."

Many treat the machine like they would their own cat or dog.

"The dynamics between the user and the robot are somewhat similar to how they used to use canine working dogs," Carpenter said. "It's something that they take care of every day and maintain, something you'd have to do with a dog." Carpenter also says the robot is more than a tool because it can move and perform tasks — again, just like a dog.

Soldiers call their robots "he" or "she," give them names, even hold funerals for them. When the robot is gone, Carpenter said they experience a range of emotions.

First comes anger, which stems from the soldiers' sense of ownership over the robot.

"If somebody crashes your car or you get rear-ended, anger might be one of your reactions because it's your car," Carpenter said.

Next is frustration. Though the soldiers may be emotionally attached to their mechanical companion, the robots are important tools first, and the loss of one often means a fellow soldier must risk his or her life.

Then comes a sense of loss. They couldn't quite verbalize the reason behind their sadness, but Carpenter believes it stems from the loss of something familiar, a semi-autonomous object with which they spent every day for quite some time.

Carpenter is concerned that further emotional attachment to robots could affect a soldier's decision-making skills. Petman and BigDog, robots designed by Boston Dynamics, may one day be used on battlefields. (The bots look like a human and a dog, respectively.)

Carpenter says emotions are a critical part of decision-making — so how will soldiers feel about sending animal or human-like creatures into life-threatening situations?

The soldiers Carpenter interviewed, despite their attachment to their robots, said they never considered not sending them into hazardous situations just because they might be destroyed. She admits people sometimes say one thing while thinking another, but Carpenter said she believes them.

But she also noted there are still plenty of unknowns in the world of human-robot relationships.

"We definitely need to fund more work in this area," she said.

Image: Wikimedia Commons