# Ep. 19: When A Robot Enters Your Home, Physical Safety Is Only Half The Battle

- Show: [The Robo Success Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast)
- Published: 2026-09-22
- Length: 41m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast/2026-09-22-ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle
- Listen: https://podcast.ausha.co/the-robo-success-podcast/ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle

## Summary

Sara Filipcic, Founder & Executive Director of the Institute for Humane Robotics, discusses the emerging field of psychosocial safety in human-robot interaction. She explains how companion robots and humanoids can create unhealthy dependencies, displace human connections, and exploit vulnerable populations like children and the elderly. Filipcic details her organization's work with IEEE to develop standards that measure these risks, contrasting cultural perceptions of robotics in Japan versus the United States.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast/2026-09-22-ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle#t=0) Introduction and Guest Background
- [8:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast/2026-09-22-ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle#t=501) Defining Psychosocial Safety vs Physical Safety
- [13:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast/2026-09-22-ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle#t=791) Measuring Psychosocial Risk and Attachment
- [17:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast/2026-09-22-ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle#t=1077) Vulnerable Populations and Design Intent
- [23:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast/2026-09-22-ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle#t=1399) Cultural Differences: Japan vs. US Perception
- [32:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast/2026-09-22-ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle#t=1955) Marketing, Education, and Global Standards

## Topics

- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Institute for Humane Robotics (company)
- IEEE (company)
- Moxie (product)
- ChatGPT (product)
- Roomba (product)
- Lex Friedman (other)
- Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (company)
- Princeton (other)
- MIT (company)
- YC (company)
- Center for Human Technology (company)
- Netflix (company)
- HumaneRobot.org (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Episode Twenty-Two: Iveta Eimontaite](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-10-21-episode-twenty-two-iveta-eimontaite) (Robot Talk)
- [207: I Love My Robot Monkey Head](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-07-05-207-i-love-my-robot-monkey-head) (Embedded.fm)
- [Inside 1x's plan to test humanoids in homes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-10-04-inside-1xs-plan-to-test-humanoids-in-homes) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [Episode 94: Humanoid robots for health and social care - Esyin Chew](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-10-18-episode-94-humanoid-robots-for-health-and-social-care-esyin-chew) (Robot Talk)
- [375: Hiding in Your Roomba](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-03-375-hiding-in-your-roomba) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robo-success-podcast/2026-09-22-ep-19-when-a-robot-enters-your-home-physical-safety-is-only-half-the-battle. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Robo Success Podcast.