How Does Robot Behavior Affect Human-Robot Interaction?

Abstract

Industrial robots, medical robots, service robots, household robots, companion robots—humans and robots are around each other in an ever-increasing number of situations. How robots look and act can have a big impact on how humans react to and feel about them. In this science project, you will program a robot with different behaviors to see how people react. Can you make people feel comfortable alongside the robot?

Summary

Areas of Science

Robotics
Human Behavior

Difficulty

Method

Scientific Method

Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

Previous experience with Arduino is recommended. See our How to Use an Arduino page.

Material Availability

BlueBot 4-in-1 Robotics Kit and Electronics Kit for Arduino available from our partner Home Science Tools®. See the Materials section for details.

Cost

High ($100 - $150)

Safety

No issues

Credits

Ben Finio, PhD, Science Buddies

Science Buddies is committed to creating content authored by scientists and educators. Learn more about our process and how we use AI.

Recommended Project Supplies

Get the right supplies — selected and tested to work with this project.

View Kit

Objective

Program different robot behaviors and see how people react.

Introduction

Scientists and engineers in the field of human-robot interaction study how humans interact with and respond to robots in various situations. These situations could include a factory worker working alongside a robotic arm, also called a collaborative robot or corobot (Figure 1), a person in a hospital playing with a companion robot (Figure 2), or a robot vacuum cleaner operating in someone's living room (Figure 3).

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons user Rethink Robotics / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Figure 1. A person working collaboratively with a robotic arm in a factory.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons user Aaron Biggs / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Figure 2. PARO, a robotic seal designed as a companion robot for people in hospitals and nursing homes.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons user James Williams / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Figure 3. A Roomba®, a type of robotic vacuum cleaner.

All of these robots have very different appearances and functions, but they do have some things in common. They all have electronic sensors that let them detect and react to things in their environment. These could include non-contact distance sensors that detect when an object is nearby (to prevent the robotic arm in a factory from hurting a human, for example) or touch sensors that detect when other objects come into contact with the robot (such as when a person pets the robot seal or the robot vacuum cleaner bumps into a couch). Some robots even have cameras with computer vision systems that help them identify objects or facial expressions, or microphones that let them listen to sounds and voice commands.

The robots also have actuators—devices like motors and solenoids that make them move. Actuators can rotate the joints of a robotic arm, blink the eyelids of a robot seal, or spin the wheels of a robot vacuum cleaner. The robots might have other outputs, like lights or speakers, that help them communicate with humans. These outputs can range from simple (like blinking lights or beeps) to complex (like synthesized speech).

Put together, a robot's sensors, programming, and outputs determine how it will behave around humans. Humans, however, are far less predictable. Our reactions to a robot can depend on a variety of factors, including the robot's appearance and behavior, but also our own preconceived feelings and biases about robots. Humans might find some robots soft and cuddly, but sometimes we can resent or even be afraid of robots. All of these factors are what researchers in the field of human-robot interaction seek to understand.

In this project, you will custom-program different behaviors into a robotic platform and see how people react to the robot. Can you elicit different emotional responses? Can you make people view the robot as friendly or approachable? Can you make them afraid of the robot? Try this project and find out!

Terms and Concepts

• Human-robot interaction
• Corobot
• Companion robot
• Sensor
• Actuator

Questions

• What are some recent developments in the field of human-robot interaction? The bibliography contains some links to help you get started, but you should do your own more recent research.
• What are some ways that a robot's appearance can influence how people react to it?
• What are some ways that a robot's behavior can influence how people react to it?
• How can sensors help a robot respond to its environment? What are some different types of sensors?
• How can actuators and other outputs help a robot interact with its environment? What are some different types of actuators and outputs?

Materials and Equipment

Recommended Project Supplies

Get the right supplies — selected and tested to work with this project.

View Kit

We recommend using the Science Buddies BlueBot platform to do this project. You will need:

• BlueBot 4-in-1 Robotics Kit, available from our partner Home Science Tools®.
• Electronics Kit for Arduino, available from our partner Home Science Tools®.
  • Note: This project will work with the Arduino UNO R3, UNO R4 Minima, UNO R4 WiFi, and compatible third-party boards.
• Windows or Mac computer. See this page if you have a Chromebook. Your computer will need:
  • Access to the Arduino IDE, either installed local version or web-based editor (note that Chromebooks can only use the web version). Watch this video for a comparison of the two options.
  • USB port. The Science Buddies kit comes with a USB-A to B cable. The "B" end plugs into the Arduino and the "A" end plugs into your computer. You will need an adapter or different cable if your computer only has USB-C ports. Watch this video to learn about the different types of cables and adapters.
• Double-sided foam tape
• Optional: Craft materials and decorations for the robot
• Volunteers
• Lab notebook

This project follows the Scientific Method. Review the steps before you begin.

Before you begin: Review How to Use an Arduino Tutorials 1-3.

Working with Human Test Subjects

There are special considerations when designing an experiment involving human subjects. Fairs affiliated with Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) often require an Informed Consent Form (permission sheet) for every participant who is questioned. Consult the rules and regulations of the science fair that you are entering, prior to performing experiments or surveys. Please refer to the Science Buddies documents Projects Involving Human Subjects and Scientific Review Committee for additional important requirements. If you are working with minors, you must get advance permission from the children's parents or guardians (and teachers if you are performing the test while they are in school) to make sure that it is all right for the children to participate in the science fair project. Here are suggested guidelines for obtaining permission for working with minors:

1. Write a clear description of your science fair project, what you are studying, and what you hope to learn. Include how the child will be tested. Include a paragraph where you get a parent's or guardian's and/or teacher's signature.
2. Print out as many copies as you need for each child you will be surveying.
3. Pass out the permission sheet to the children or to the teachers of the children to give to the parents. You must have permission for all the children in order to be able to use them as test subjects.

Build and Program Your Robot

1. Decide on at least two different behaviors to program for your robot. Think about what sensors and outputs you will need to accomplish these behaviors. These behaviors should be designed to provoke different reactions or emotional responses from volunteers. You should think about how you want your volunteers to interact with the robot. Are they just supposed to watch it? Talk to it? Try to pet it or catch it? Here are a few ideas, but these are just suggestions:
   1. Drive around randomly, turning when it bumps into things (using bump sensors) while beeping or blinking its LEDs
   2. Aggressively drive toward someone (using an ultrasonic distance sensor) and make angry buzzing sounds
   3. Turn around and "run away" when it detects a person (using an ultrasonic distance sensor)
   4. Seek out dark places and "hide" (using light sensors)
   5. Drive toward (or away from) sound sources (using microphones)
2. Build and program your robot. Your circuit and Arduino code will depend on the parts you decide to use and the behaviors you want to program. However, you can find example circuits and code for different sensors in the following Science Buddies projects:
   1. Self-driving car (ultrasonic and infrared sensors)
   2. Bump sensor robot
   3. Sound tracking robot (microphones)
   4. Solar tracking robot (light sensors)
3. Test each of your robot's behaviors yourself. Work out any bugs in the code or your algorithm. You may need to set up the room differently depending on your robot's desired behavior (for example, remove obstacles that the robot has a hard time detecting or reacting to).
4. Optional: Instead of writing different programs that you will need to re-upload to your robot, you can include one or more switches in your circuit connected to Arduino inputs. Make the robot execute a different algorithm depending on the switch settings. This will make it easier to switch between behaviors when testing your robot with volunteers.
5. Optional: Decorate your robot by adding googly eyes or other craft materials, but make sure you keep its appearance the same for all trials.

See How People React to Your Robot

1. Design a survey (and/or interview) for volunteers to fill out after they have interacted with the robot. Your survey could include rating scales, such as rating the robot's traits (friendliness, scariness, etc.) on a 1–5 scale, and open-ended/free responses asking how they felt about the robot and interacting with it.
2. Prepare observation sheets for you to take notes while you watch the volunteers interact with the robots. Optionally, you can video record the interactions so you can watch them later and take more notes. (Make sure you have volunteers' permission to record.)
3. One at a time, bring each volunteer into the room where you will test the robot. You do not want them to see each other's reactions to the robot, since this may bias their responses.
4. Explain the experiment to the volunteer. Give them any specific instructions you want them to follow for interacting with the robot (such as trying to pet it).
5. Choose a random program/behavior. (Do not test the behaviors in the same order each time, since a volunteer's initial interaction with the robot may affect their subsequent interactions.) Turn the robot on and let it run for a fixed amount of time (e.g., 1 minute). Observe the volunteer's reaction to the robot during this time.
6. Turn the robot off and ask the volunteer to fill out the survey for the first behavior.
7. Repeat steps 5–6 for each of your remaining behaviors in a random order.
8. Ask the volunteer to leave the room, then repeat the process for each remaining volunteer.
9. Analyze your data. Depending on how you designed your surveys and did your observations, you may have a mix of quantitative and qualitative data, so your data analysis methods may vary. For example, you could make a bar graph showing average 1–5 ratings of friendliness/scariness, etc., for the different behaviors; a bar graph showing the frequency of different behavioral reactions from the volunteers (e.g., running away from the robot or picking it up); or a word cloud using free responses from the surveys.
10. How did your volunteers react to the different robot behaviors? Did their responses match your predictions? How would you use this information when designing a collaborative robot, companion robot, or robot for another purpose?

Ask an Expert

Do you have specific questions about your science project? Our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.

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