Person Transfer in the Field: Examining Real World Sequential Human-Robot Interaction Between Two Robots

TL;DR

This study explores real-world sequential human-robot interactions through a field experiment involving person transfers between stationary and mobile robots, revealing key insights into trust, positioning, and interaction design.

Contribution

It provides novel empirical data and analysis on person transfer scenarios in natural settings, highlighting factors affecting user experience and robot interaction design.

Findings

Trust influences user comfort during person transfer.

Robot positioning impacts interaction smoothness.

Identified pitfalls in sequential human-robot interaction.

Abstract

With more robots being deployed in the world, users will likely interact with multiple robots sequentially when receiving services. In this paper, we describe an exploratory field study in which unsuspecting participants experienced a ``person transfer'' -- a scenario in which they first interacted with one stationary robot before another mobile robot joined to complete the interaction. In our 7-hour study spanning 4 days, we recorded 18 instances of person transfers with 40+ individuals. We also interviewed 11 participants after the interaction to further understand their experience. We used the recorded video and interview data to extract interesting insights about in-the-field sequential human-robot interaction, such as mobile robot handovers, trust in person transfer, and the importance of the robots' positions. Our findings expose pitfalls and present important factors to consider when designing sequential human-robot interaction.