Interaction Spaces Between Human and Mobile Autonomous Systems
Final Report Abstract
The increasing deployment of autonomously moving systems (sabeS) makes it likely that random encounters between humans and such systems will increase in the future. The project, abbreviated as "sabeS," focused on investigating interaction spaces between humans and sabeS. In particular, it examined the minimal distance robots should maintain from individuals and the factors influencing this minimal distance. The study focused on random, brief encounters that were not linked to intentional cooperation or mutual dependency beyond the interaction itself. The project emphasized the perception, interpretation, and evaluation of robots' movement behavior (so-called "movement cues") in relation to their proximity to humans. The application context chosen was spatial encounters with delivery robots in public spaces. Unlike, for instance, traffic or intralogistics, which are often highly regulated, interactions with mobile autonomous systems like robots in this context are typically less structured and subject to the norms of social conventions. Robot-related, human-related, and environment-related factors influence proxemics as well as the quality and perception of human-robot interactions (HRI). The sabeS project concentrated on selected influencing factors identified through a literature review and refined based on project findings. The factors studied were categorized into three groups: 1) Robot-related factors: robot size, speed, approach angle, and movement strategy; 2) Human-related factors: demographic data such as age and gender, technology affinity, visual and cognitive distraction, and mental models; 3) Environmental influences: laboratory settings, field experiments, and virtual reality (VR). In addition to the acceptable minimum distance from the robot, subjective discomfort and perceived safety experienced by humans during the interaction were also examined. To investigate these aspects systematically, two experiments were conducted in virtual environments, two in laboratory conditions within a semi-public building at the Technical University of Munich’s Garching campus, and a final field experiment in the same building. The results of the five experiments revealed significant and consistent effects of robot size and speed on both the minimal comfort distance and the discomfort elicited. These findings indicate the appropriate distance at which a delivery robot should adjust its behavior, depending on the examined factors, to minimize discomfort for humans. The project’s findings contribute to shaping future HRI in public spaces positively, particularly regarding the spatial coordination between humans and robots.
Publications
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Perception of a Mobile Service Robot’s Proxemic Behavior and Appearance in Virtual Reality. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 61-78. Springer Nature Switzerland.
Herzog, Olivia; Boos, Annika; Stockmann, Jan-Niklas Birger & Bengler, Klaus
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Video-based framing can alter the negative attitude toward service robots. Proceedings of the 22nd Congress of the International Ergonomics Association 2024. Springer Series in Design and Innovation (SSDI)
Herzog, O., Boos, A., Merkel, T. & Bengler, K.
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The Influence of Robot Descriptions and Distraction on Proxemics Between Humans and Robots in Virtual Reality. IEEE Access, 13, 159037-159049.
Herzog, Olivia A.; Boos, Annika C.; Merkel, Tim S. & Bengler, Klaus
