Findings From A Qualitative Field Study with An Autonomous Robot in Public: Exploration of User Reactions and Conflicts

Abstract

Abstract Soon service robots will be employed in public spaces with frequent human-robot interaction (HRI). To achieve a safe, trustworthy and acceptable HRI, service robots need to be equipped with interaction strategies suitable for the robot, user, and context. To gain realistic insights into the initial user reactions and challenges that arise when a mechanoid, autonomous service robot in public is applied, a field study with three data sources was conducted. In a first step, lay users’ intuitive reactions to a cleaning robot at a train station were observed ( $$N = 344$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>N</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>344</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math> ). Second, passersby’s preferences for HRI interaction strategies were explored in interviews ( $$n = 54$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>54</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math> ). As a third step, trust and acceptance of the robot were assessed with questionnaires ( $$n = 32$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>n</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>32</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:math> ). Identified challenges were social robot navigation in crowded places also applicable to vulnerable passersby, inclusive communication modalities, information of staff and public about the service robot application and the need for conflict resolution strategies to avoid an inefficient robot (e.g., testing behavior, path is blocked). This study provides insights into naive HRI in public and illustrates challenges, provides recommendations supported by literature and highlights aspects for future research to inspire a research agenda in the field of public HRI.