Observations of atypical users from a pilot deployment of a public-space social robot in a church

TL;DR

This study observes unexpected user interactions with a social robot in a church, providing empirical insights into public space HRI challenges and suggesting practical strategies for improvement.

Contribution

It offers novel empirical observations of atypical user interactions in a real-world public space deployment of a social robot.

Findings

Identified diverse and unexpected user behaviors in a public setting

Highlighted challenges faced by social robots in unpredictable environments

Provided practical strategies for improving public space HRI

Abstract

Though a goal of HRI is the natural integration of social robots into everyday public spaces, real-world studies still occur mostly within controlled environments with predetermined participants. True public spaces present an environment which is largely unconstrained and unpredictable, frequented by a diverse range of people whose goals can often conflict with those of the robot. When combined with the general unfamiliarity most people have with social robots, this leads to unexpected human-robot interactions in these public spaces that are rarely discussed or detected in other contexts. In this paper, we describe atypical users we observed interacting with our robot, and those who did not, during a three-day pilot deployment within a large working church and visitor attraction. We then discuss theoretical future advances in the field that could address these challenges, as well as immediate practical mitigations and strategies to help improve public space human-robot interactions in the present. This work contributes empirical insights into the dynamics of human-robot interaction in public environments and offers actionable guidance for more effective future deployments for social robot designers.