Reframing HRI Design Opportunities for Social Robots: Lessons Learnt from a Service Robotics Case Study Approach Using UX for HRI

Sara Khan and Claudio Germak
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Sara Khan: Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
Claudio Germak: Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy

Future Internet, 2018, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-22

Abstract: Over the last few decades, semi-autonomous machine’s technology started to promote awareness towards the importance of human–robot interaction (HRI) for improving daily activities. More affordable social robots are being commercially released and in order to implement viable applications of HRI, a combination human-computer interaction and user experience methodologies could play a pivotal role in assessing new scenarios and evaluating new investigations. However, literature shows that it is still challenging to reach an optimal user experience with robotic companions. The aim of the study was to determine the chance to enhance the user experience with a semi-autonomous social robot, using user experience and human–computer interaction methodologies. In this study, a social robotic companion has been developed and prototyped in order to be adopted in a specific public environment such as a company workspace. The challenges emerged from this peculiar environment triggered the need for a more productive and comfortable office for the employees, and, at the same time, the usability, acceptance and likeability of the robotic companion have been evaluated. The results emphasize that, since HRI is highly interdisciplinary, the benefits of combining approaches from other fields could positively benefit from a meaningful social interaction with the users.

Keywords: human–robot interaction (HRI); user experience (UX); human–computer interaction (HCI); user centred design; HCI for HRI; UX methods; social robots (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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