Search for: All records

Mixed Reality provides a powerful medium for transparent and effective human-robot communication, especially for robots with significant physical limitations (e.g., those without arms). To enhance nonverbal capabilities for armless robots, this article presents two studies that explore two different categories of mixed reality deictic gestures for armless robots: a virtual arrow positioned over a target referent (a non-ego-sensitive allocentric gesture) and a virtual arm positioned over the gesturing robot (an ego-sensitive allocentric gesture). In Study 1, we explore the tradeoffs between these two types of gestures with respect to both objective performance and subjective social perceptions. Our results show fundamentally different task-oriented versus social benefits, with non-ego-sensitive allocentric gestures enabling faster reaction time and higher accuracy, but ego-sensitive gestures enabling higher perceived social presence, anthropomorphism, and likability. In Study 2, we refine our design recommendations by showing that in fact these different gestures should not be viewed as mutually exclusive alternatives, and that by using them together, robots can achieve both task-oriented and social benefits. 

Mixed Reality visualizations provide a powerful new approach for enabling gestural capabilities on non-humanoid robots. This paper explores two different categories of mixed-reality deictic gestures for armless robots: a virtual arrow positioned over a target referent (a non-ego-sensitive allocentric gesture) and a virtual arm positioned over the gesturing robot (an ego-sensitive allocentric gesture). Specifically, we present the results of a within-subjects Mixed Reality HRI experiment (N=23) exploring the trade-offs between these two types of gestures with respect to both objective performance and subjective social perceptions. Our results show a clear trade-off between performance and social perception, with non-ego-sensitive allocentric gestures enabling faster reaction time and higher accuracy, but ego-sensitive gestures enabling higher perceived social presence, anthropomorphism, and likability. 

Mixed reality visualizations provide a powerful new approach for enabling gestural capabilities for non-humanoid robots. This paper explores two different categories of mixed-reality deictic gestures for armless robots: a virtual arrow positioned over a target referent (a non-ego-sensitive allocentric gesture) and a virtual arrow positioned over the robot (an ego-sensitive allocentric gesture). We explore the trade-offs between these two types of gestures, with respect to both objective performance and subjective social perceptions. We conducted a 24-participant within-subjects experiment in which a HoloLens-wearing participant interacted with a robot that used these two types of gestures to refer to objects at two different distances. Our results demonstrate a clear trade-off between performance and social perception: non-ego-sensitive allocentric gestures led to quicker reaction time and higher accuracy, but ego-sensitive gesture led to higher perceived social presence, anthropomorphism, and likability. These results present a challenging design decision to creators of mixed reality robotic systems