Robot Etiquette: How to Approach a Pair of People?
9th ACM / IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2014) March 03-06, 2014, Bielefeld, Germany
5 Pages Posted: 12 Apr 2017
Date Written: March 5, 2014
Abstract
Research has been carried out on robots approaching one person [1, 3, 4]. However, further research is needed on robots approaching groups of people. In the study reported in this paper, we studied participants who were paired up for a task and assessed their perception and behaviors as they were approached by a robot from various angles. On an individual level, participants liked the frontal approaches, and they disliked being approached from the back. However, we found that the presence of a task-partner influenced participants’ comfort with a robot approaching (i.e. when the robot approaches and one is standing behind the task-partner). Apart from individuals’ positioning, the layout of the room, position of furniture and doors, also seemed to influence their experience. This pilot study was performed with a limited number of participants (N=30). However, the study offers preliminary insights into the factors that influence the choice for a robot approach direction when approaching a pair of people that are focused on a task.
Keywords: Human robot interaction, approach direction, multiple people, task orientation, comfort
JEL Classification: C93, O39, Z10
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation