Extrapolating significance of text-based autonomous vehicle scenarios to multimedia scenarios and implications for user-centered design

Extrapolation from low-fidelity design iterations is especially critical in HRI. An initial proposal for low-fidelity to higher fidelity extrapolation is developed using insights from cognitive multimedia learning theory to account for the effects of prototype medium and three types of cognitive demands. Inspired by Donald Norman and others, our proposal leverages tightly controlled and multi-authored scenarios through crowdsourcing to create additional potential evidence as a kind of experimental “stress test.” We motivate our proposal by investigating the intersection of emotion and human control, which is understudied outside of autonomous vehicles (AV) and HRI research. Evidence for positively moderated emotional effects in text-based AV scenarios as well as tentative evidence for our extrapolation proposal are identified.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168412/1/Robinson et al. 2021.pdfDescription of Robinson et al. 2021.pdf : PreprintSEL

“Sorry, It Was My Fault”: Repairing Trust in Human-Robot Interactions

Robots have been playing an increasingly important role in human life, but their performance is yet far from perfection. Based on extant literature in interpersonal, organizational, and human-machine communication, the current study develops a three-fold categorization of technical failures (i.e., logic, semantic, and syntax failures) commonly observed in human-robot interactions from the interactants’ end, investigating it together with four trust repair strategies: internal-attribution apology, external-attribution apology, denial, and no repair. The 743 observations conducted through an online experiment reveals there exist some nuances in participants’ perceived division between competence- and integrity-based trust violations, given the ontological differences between humans and machines. The findings also suggest prior propositions about trust repair from the perspective of attribution theory only explain part of the variance, in addition to some significant main effects of failure types and repair methods on HRI-based trust

Methodological Issues in Scenario-Based Evaluation of Human–Robot Interaction

Scenarios have been widely used for evaluating human–robot interactions (HRIs). However, little has been reported on systematic utilization of different types of media for deploying HRI scenarios. This study investigates the methodological issues in scenario-based HRI evaluation, focusing on the effect of scenario media on user attitudes toward robots. Two experiments are designed to examine how scenario media may influence the elder adults’ attitudes towards social robots. Different types of scenario media, including text, video, interactive video, and live interaction, were compared systematically with respect to established evaluation criteria. The results showed that the characteristics of scenario media influenced users’ acceptance of robots and affected their attitudes. The outcome of the study helps designers to select scenario media for deploying contextual information of HRI.ASTAR (Agency for Sci., Tech. and Research, S’pore

Supporting medication intake of the elderly with robot technology: Poster and demonstration

Medication intake can prove a complicated task for the elderly. Since roughly 50% of all prescribed medication is taken incorrectly (MacLaughlin, et al., 2005), simplification of this task might have beneficial effects on this group’s general health and society’s healthcare costs. In response, Assistobot Corporation has commissioned the present study alongside its development of an assistive robot for the elderly, called RITA (the Reliable Interactive Table Assistant). The aim of this study was twofold: Firstly to develop a robot interface to assist the elderly with their medication intake. Secondly, to investigate whether the target group is willing to accept medication intake assistance from a robot. In order to fully map the process involved and so prepare for the initial stages of development, caregivers were interviewed about the medication intake task. The responses were analyzed and served to guide the development of the robot interface. The caregivers indicated that it was important for them to check whether the elderly actually took their medication. Wireframes were created before the actual interface was developed. A focus group was asked to provide feedback on the clarity of the design, and whether it met their requirements. Our test group found that the font size should be increased for optimal utility. The interface was developed in HTML5 and tested in a user study which consisted of a usability test and the post-study Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) (Lewis, 1992). The questionnaire was extended with an acceptance questionnaire to investigate whether elderly would accept a robot to assist them with their medication intake. This questionnaire was based on the ALMERE-model (Heerink, Krose, Evers, & Wielinga, 2010) (Xu, et al., 2014). The usability test showed that the majority of participants in this study (17 out of 19) were able to take their medication with assistance of the interface. However, they found it difficult to work certain interface settings, such as those concerning the notifications interval or their pharmacy's contact details. Furthermore, on a five-point Likert scale, the PSSUQ resulted in a mean score of 3.9 (between 'Neutral' and 'Agree'); the Robot Acceptance Questionnaire scored a 3.5. Along with the results of the usability test, the questionnaire findings indicate that the interface could be used by the elderly for assistance with the medication intake task and that they are willing to accept assistance of a robot with this task in the future. Heerink, M., Krose, B., Evers, V., & Wielinga, B. (2010). Assessing acceptance of assistive social agent technology by older adults: the Almere model. International Journal of Social Robotics, 361-375. MacLaughlin, E. J., Raehl, C. L., Treadway, A. K., Sterling, T. L., Zoller, D. P., & Bond, C. A. (2005). Assessing medication adherence in the elderly. Drugs & Aging, 231-255. Lewis, J. R. (1992). Psychometric evaluation of the post-study system usability questionnaire: The PSSUQ. Proceedings of the human factors society, 1259-1263. Xu, Q., Ng, J., Tan, O., Huang, Z., Tay, B., & Park, T. (2014). Methodological Issues in Scenario-Based Evaluation of Human-Robot interaction. International journal of social robotics