THE fear of robots taking over the world has been in the human consciousness since the dawn of the modern era.

As humans begin to rely more and more on robotic technology, many philosophers, artists and scientists have argued that our relationship with technology needs to change; that we should not think of robots as soulless droids invented to serve our every need, but as equals.

One designer may have the answer ... but it’s not pretty.

British designer Kevin Grennan told news.com.au that it won't be the fact they look like humans that will force us to recognise robots as possible equals.

It will be how they smell.

“I’m interested in the future of human-robot empathy”, says Mr Grennan.

“Much current research into robotics is focused on the creation of anthropomorphic robots – machines that look and appear to behave like humans.

“Although there are valid reasons for this research (and a good deal of egotism), I believe that this approach is fundamentally flawed."

The answer? How about a robotic armpit complete with hair and a synthetic sweat gland that emulates the scent of human fear?

“I chose the armpit because I was interested in using smell as a communication tool in human-robot interaction,” Mr Grennan said.

“Other researchers have been developing faces, hands etc ... (but) our sense of smell is much more subtle than our other senses and our reactions are sometimes sub-conscious.

"I found the potential for interesting forms of communication to be exciting.”

Mr Grennan specifically designed the smelly robotic armpit for a bomb disposal robot.

As it goes about its work, the robot literally begins sweating, filling the air with the same kinds of chemicals produced by humans when they’re afraid.

The designer said experiments show that such fear triggers have the potential to enhance a human's cognitive performance.

“This robot would enable surrounding humans to work more effectively and to differentiate dangerous situations from false alarms,” Mr Grennan said.

Ladies love sweaty bots



The bomb disposal robot isn’t the only concept to get Mr Grannan's sweaty gland makeover.

He also has concepts for a picker robot and a surgical robot. The armpit and its unpleasant aromas serve different functions according to the purpose of the robot.

“In the case of the picker robot, (the armpit) releases a chemical called androstadienone, which is found in male sweat,” Mr Grennan said.

“This has be shown in research to affect mood in females under certain circumstances.

“I have speculated that this robot, when used on a production line, could enhance the performance of female employees in its vicinity."

The third robot is a surgery robot that releases a mist of oxytocin, a chemical found in the human brain.

“This chemical when inhaled nasally has been shown to cause people to become more trusting," Mr Grennan said.

"A patient could meet this robot before surgery and the chemical mist would cause the patient to trust in its abilities to a greater degree."

Rather than a serious design brief for future technology, Mr Grennan says the point of the armpit design was not to come up with a functioning model but rather to force humans to reconsider their relationship to technology.

"I think it is important that we feel some kind of empathy towards robots”, Mr Grennan said.

“That doesn't necessarily mean that we need to think of them as humans just like us, but merely that we should understand the tasks that they can and cannot do and be willing to assist them when necessary.”

Robots are taking over the world

The fear of robots taking over the world has long been a penchant of science fiction films, novels and TV series.

Mr Grennan believes that this paradoxical fear of the technology we rely so greatly on stems from a realisation of our own mortality.

“As humans, we are alone on Earth as intelligent, sentient beings and our ancestors have worked very hard to make that so,” Mr Grennan said.

“To be faced with a technology that might one day be smarter than us is pretty scary. Add to that the fact that this technology might be immortal and you have a recipe for a sci-fi horror movie.”

So where does the London designer see human-robot relationships heading in the foreseeable future?

“While at the moment it is still quite easy for us to tell when we are being manipulated by these machines and to spot their underlying algorithms, I worry that in the future this will become harder," he said.

“I think it will be a very long time before we can be fooled into thinking that a robot is a human.

"But we may start to believe much sooner that robots are experiencing human emotions.”