Excluded by Robots

Excluded by Robots

Excluded by Robots

A Human-Robot-Robot Interaction study

A Human-Robot-Robot Interaction study

A Human-Robot-Robot Interaction study

A MacBook Pro displaying a photographer's website
A MacBook Pro displaying a photographer's website
A MacBook Pro displaying a photographer's website

About the project

About the
project

Interest in integrating social and personal robots in our daily lives has been growing over the years. It is believed that various autonomous devices will be common in homes and workplaces in the near future, interacting with humans and each other. In this study, we aimed to explore and compare situations that involve different levels of involvement of humans in Robot-Robot interactions, ranging from excluding the human from the interaction to include and over-including the human in the interaction. We test the effect on the human's emotions and perception of the devices. In the study, we used a well-known paradigm from social psychology called CyberBall. We designed a catch (throwing a ball to one another) interaction between one person and two non-humanoid robots. The proportion of tosses from the robot's towards the participant will determine the level of the human's involvement in the interaction. We measured the involvement's influence on the participant's feelings related to ostracism, mood, and perception of the robots. 

Interest in integrating social and personal robots in our daily lives has been growing over the years. It is believed that various autonomous devices will be common in homes and workplaces in the near future, interacting with humans and each other. In this study, we aimed to explore and compare situations that involve different levels of involvement of humans in Robot-Robot interactions, ranging from excluding the human from the interaction to include and over-including the human in the interaction. We test the effect on the human's emotions and perception of the devices. In the study, we used a well-known paradigm from social psychology called CyberBall. We designed a catch (throwing a ball to one another) interaction between one person and two non-humanoid robots. The proportion of tosses from the robot's towards the participant will determine the level of the human's involvement in the interaction. We measured the involvement's influence on the participant's feelings related to ostracism, mood, and perception of the robots. 

Interest in integrating social and personal robots in our daily lives has been growing over the years. It is believed that various autonomous devices will be common in homes and workplaces in the near future, interacting with humans and each other. In this study, we aimed to explore and compare situations that involve different levels of involvement of humans in Robot-Robot interactions, ranging from excluding the human from the interaction to include and over-including the human in the interaction. We test the effect on the human's emotions and perception of the devices. In the study, we used a well-known paradigm from social psychology called CyberBall. We designed a catch (throwing a ball to one another) interaction between one person and two non-humanoid robots. The proportion of tosses from the robot's towards the participant will determine the level of the human's involvement in the interaction. We measured the involvement's influence on the participant's feelings related to ostracism, mood, and perception of the robots. 

We Got In! 🏆 The article was formally accepted to the International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2021) and got an average score of 4.8 out of 5!

We Got In! 🏆 The article was formally accepted to the International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2021) and got an average score of 4.8 out of 5!

We Got In! 🏆 The article was formally accepted to the International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2021) and got an average score of 4.8 out of 5!

An Illustration of the game
An Illustration of the game
An Illustration of the game
An Illustration of the game

Tech Stack

Ultimaker Cura

3D Printing Software

Arduino

Electronic prototyping board

Tech Stack

Ultimaker Cura

3D Printing Software

Arduino

Electronic prototyping board

Tech Stack

Ultimaker Cura

3D Printing Software

Arduino

Electronic prototyping board

Tech Stack

Ultimaker Cura

3D Printing Software

Arduino

Electronic prototyping board

Created

Created

2021

Full Article

Full Article

Filming the project during Covid-19
Filming the project during Covid-19
Filming the project during Covid-19
Filming the project during Covid-19
The robots in this project: Gimi and Keep
The robots in this project: Gimi and Keep
The robots in this project: Gimi and Keep
The robots in this project: Gimi and Keep

Process

Process

My role - Research Project Manager

I was the Project Manager of the project. My team included two psychology students, a computer science student, an animator, an industrial designer, and academic advisors.
I managed the project from the beginning, planning this project, through the design process of the system, conducting experiments and interviews with participants, and up to writing an academic paper for the HRI 2021 conference.

Main Responsibilities

  • Design and conduct experiments: My team develops and design the system, including 3 robots, the experiment settings, and a simple UI control for the user. The research includes different methods as semi-structured interviews, anonymous multi-choice questioners. Collecting data, interview transcripts, and analyzing qualitative data using thematic coding methods

  • Responsible for the research team: Conducting and managing the research and the team, including the definition of timetable, goals for every step, and supervision on the whole process

  • Involvement in writing an academic paper: Including literature reviews and a deep understanding of the CyberBall paradigm. Writing specifically the Findings chapter and dividing the qualitative findings into themes.


My role - Research Project Manager

I was the Project Manager of the project. My team included two psychology students, a computer science student, an animator, an industrial designer, and academic advisors.
I managed the project from the beginning, planning this project, through the design process of the system, conducting experiments and interviews with participants, and up to writing an academic paper for the HRI 2021 conference.

Main Responsibilities

  • Design and conduct experiments: My team develops and design the system, including 3 robots, the experiment settings, and a simple UI control for the user. The research includes different methods as semi-structured interviews, anonymous multi-choice questioners. Collecting data, interview transcripts, and analyzing qualitative data using thematic coding methods

  • Responsible for the research team: Conducting and managing the research and the team, including the definition of timetable, goals for every step, and supervision on the whole process

  • Involvement in writing an academic paper: Including literature reviews and a deep understanding of the CyberBall paradigm. Writing specifically the Findings chapter and dividing the qualitative findings into themes.


My role - Research Project Manager

I was the Project Manager of the project. My team included two psychology students, a computer science student, an animator, an industrial designer, and academic advisors.
I managed the project from the beginning, planning this project, through the design process of the system, conducting experiments and interviews with participants, and up to writing an academic paper for the HRI 2021 conference.

Main Responsibilities

  • Design and conduct experiments: My team develops and design the system, including 3 robots, the experiment settings, and a simple UI control for the user. The research includes different methods as semi-structured interviews, anonymous multi-choice questioners. Collecting data, interview transcripts, and analyzing qualitative data using thematic coding methods

  • Responsible for the research team: Conducting and managing the research and the team, including the definition of timetable, goals for every step, and supervision on the whole process

  • Involvement in writing an academic paper: Including literature reviews and a deep understanding of the CyberBall paradigm. Writing specifically the Findings chapter and dividing the qualitative findings into themes.


My role - Research Project Manager

I was the Project Manager of the project. My team included two psychology students, a computer science student, an animator, an industrial designer, and academic advisors.
I managed the project from the beginning, planning this project, through the design process of the system, conducting experiments and interviews with participants, and up to writing an academic paper for the HRI 2021 conference.

Main Responsibilities

  • Design and conduct experiments: My team develops and design the system, including 3 robots, the experiment settings, and a simple UI control for the user. The research includes different methods as semi-structured interviews, anonymous multi-choice questioners. Collecting data, interview transcripts, and analyzing qualitative data using thematic coding methods

  • Responsible for the research team: Conducting and managing the research and the team, including the definition of timetable, goals for every step, and supervision on the whole process

  • Involvement in writing an academic paper: Including literature reviews and a deep understanding of the CyberBall paradigm. Writing specifically the Findings chapter and dividing the qualitative findings into themes.


Interviews

At the discovery phase of my project, I conducted user interviews with 40 participants to better understand how they feel during the experience.

Some of the questions I asked :

  • Describe what happened in this experience.

  • How did you you felt during the experiment?

  • Did you feel that the game was fair?

  • What role/part did you take in the game?

  • Some of the participants before you described their experience as a positive one, and others described it negatively. What is your opinion?

Interviews

At the discovery phase of my project, I conducted user interviews with 40 participants to better understand how they feel during the experience.

Some of the questions I asked :

  • Describe what happened in this experience.

  • How did you you felt during the experiment?

  • Did you feel that the game was fair?

  • What role/part did you take in the game?

  • Some of the participants before you described their experience as a positive one, and others described it negatively. What is your opinion?

Interviews

At the discovery phase of my project, I conducted user interviews with 40 participants to better understand how they feel during the experience.

Some of the questions I asked :

  • Describe what happened in this experience.

  • How did you you felt during the experiment?

  • Did you feel that the game was fair?

  • What role/part did you take in the game?

  • Some of the participants before you described their experience as a positive one, and others described it negatively. What is your opinion?

A sketch of the table with the robots on it
A sketch of the table with the robots on it
A sketch of the table with the robots on it

What have I learned from this project?

In this project, I learn a lot about research, user testing, and to manage a team:

  • How to manage a team with people from different backgrounds and roles.

  • How to work with software engineers and industrial designers.

  • How to design a system and to think about every single scenario that can happen.

  • How to interview users and trying to lead the conversation to the subject that matters to me.

Some of the reviews I got:

"I thought this was one of the best HRI papers I have read, and a pleasure to read and review." - The main reviewer
"I would strongly recommend this paper for acceptance." - Reviewer 2


What have I learned from this project?

In this project, I learn a lot about research, user testing, and to manage a team:

  • How to manage a team with people from different backgrounds and roles.

  • How to work with software engineers and industrial designers.

  • How to design a system and to think about every single scenario that can happen.

  • How to interview users and trying to lead the conversation to the subject that matters to me.

Some of the reviews I got:

"I thought this was one of the best HRI papers I have read, and a pleasure to read and review." - The main reviewer
"I would strongly recommend this paper for acceptance." - Reviewer 2


What have I learned from this project?

In this project, I learn a lot about research, user testing, and to manage a team:

  • How to manage a team with people from different backgrounds and roles.

  • How to work with software engineers and industrial designers.

  • How to design a system and to think about every single scenario that can happen.

  • How to interview users and trying to lead the conversation to the subject that matters to me.

Some of the reviews I got:

"I thought this was one of the best HRI papers I have read, and a pleasure to read and review." - The main reviewer
"I would strongly recommend this paper for acceptance." - Reviewer 2


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Yoav Cohen © 2024

Yoav Cohen © 2024

Yoav Cohen © 2024

Yoav Cohen © 2024