What Could a Social Mediator Robot Do? Lessons from Real-World Mediation Scenarios

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential roles and behaviors of social mediator robots in real-world group situations, emphasizing practical applications and evaluation methods to enhance social dynamics.

Contribution

It identifies six key roles for robotic mediators based on real-world scenarios and discusses strategies for their effective deployment and assessment.

Findings

Six mediator roles identified from real-world videos

Mediation behaviors and success measures discussed

Highlights broader applications for social robots in mediation

Abstract

The use of social robots as instruments for social mediation has been gaining traction in the field of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). So far, the design of such robots and their behaviors is often driven by technological platforms and experimental setups in controlled laboratory environments. To address complex social relationships in the real world, it is crucial to consider the actual needs and consequences of the situations found therein. This includes understanding when a mediator is necessary, what specific role such a robot could play, and how it moderates human social dynamics. In this paper, we discuss six relevant roles for robotic mediators that we identified by investigating a collection of videos showing realistic group situations. We further discuss mediation behaviors and target measures to evaluate the success of such interventions. We hope that our findings can inspire future research on robot-assisted social mediation by highlighting a wider set of mediation applications than those found in prior studies. Specifically, we aim to inform the categorization and selection of interaction scenarios that reflect real situations, where a mediation robot can have a positive and meaningful impact on group dynamics.