Rapid advances in artificial intelligence and automation technology have seen increasing numbers of robots appearing and performing specific functions in public spaces. Today, they can be spotted in supermarkets, malls, airports, hospitals, parks, and on streets and sidewalks. Their activities include cleaning, delivering food or parcels, or providing security or public information. As technology develops, the operating systems for robots are being integrated with massive data networks. Consequently, these intelligent machines are poised to become much more sophisticated and much more engaged in our daily lives.

Yet, for now, little is known about how robots shape our experience of public space as they interact with people and move through these environments. Moreover, little effort has gone into the development of public policy anticipating the ways that citizens will increasingly come to interact with robots

In this article, the author considers how we might advance policy design to regulate the use of robots and asks what research techniques can be used to document public reactions to, and interactions with, robots in public spaces in Australia.