[Paper Review] Aligning Robot's Behaviours and Users' Perceptions Through Participatory Prototyping

Pamela Carreno‐Medrano, Leimin Tian+7 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jan 11, 2021

Social Robot Interaction and HRI28 references4 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes a participatory prototyping approach to align robot behaviors with public perceptions in real-world settings. Through interactive workshops involving users in designing and testing robot behaviors in simulation and on physical robots, the study reveals how social context and user engagement reshape expectations, ultimately improving robot acceptance and usability in public spaces.

ABSTRACT

Robots are increasingly being deployed in public spaces. However, the general population rarely has the opportunity to nominate what they would prefer or expect a robot to do in these contexts. Since most people have little or no experience interacting with a robot, it is not surprising that robots deployed in the real world may fail to gain acceptance or engage their intended users. To address this issue, we examine users' understanding of robots in public spaces and their expectations of appropriate uses of robots in these spaces. Furthermore, we investigate how these perceptions and expectations change as users engage and interact with a robot. To support this goal, we conducted a participatory design workshop in which participants were actively involved in the prototyping and testing of a robot's behaviours in simulation and on the physical robot. Our work highlights how social and interaction contexts influence users' perception of robots in public spaces and how users' design and understanding of what are appropriate robot behaviors shifts as they observe the enactment of their designs.

Motivation & Objective

• To investigate how users perceive and expect robots to behave in public spaces.
• To understand how users' expectations of robot behavior evolve through direct interaction and prototyping.
• To bridge the gap between robot capabilities and public expectations by involving users in the design process.
• To evaluate the impact of social and interaction contexts on user perceptions of robot behavior.
• To develop a method for co-designing robot behaviors that are socially acceptable and contextually appropriate.

Proposed method

• Conducted participatory design workshops with diverse participants to co-create robot behaviors.
• Used simulation environments to prototype and test robot behaviors before physical deployment.
• Deployed a physical robot to enact user-designed behaviors in real-world public space scenarios.
• Collected qualitative and observational data on user reactions and perception shifts during interaction.
• Integrated feedback loops to iteratively refine robot behaviors based on user input and observed responses.
• Analyzed changes in user expectations and perceptions before, during, and after interaction with the robot.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How do users perceive appropriate robot behaviors in public spaces before interacting with a robot?
• RQ2 How do users' expectations of robot behavior change when they actively participate in designing and testing behaviors?
• RQ3 What role do social and interaction contexts play in shaping users' perceptions of robot behavior?
• RQ4 To what extent does participatory prototyping lead to more socially acceptable and contextually appropriate robot behaviors?
• RQ5 How do users' mental models of robots evolve when they observe their designs enacted in real-time?

Key findings

• Users' initial expectations of robot behavior were highly context-dependent and varied significantly across demographic and social groups.
• Participatory engagement led to a measurable shift in users' perceptions, with many revising their initial expectations after observing enacted behaviors.
• Social context—such as the presence of others or the setting—significantly influenced users' comfort levels and perceived appropriateness of robot actions.
• Users demonstrated greater trust and acceptance when they had a role in designing the robot's behavior, especially when they saw their designs implemented.
• The iterative prototyping process revealed that users often underestimated the complexity of real-time robot behavior, leading to revised expectations upon observation.
• Physical enactment of behaviors in real-world settings was critical for uncovering usability and social acceptability issues not detectable in simulation alone.