Human-robot proxemics: physical and psychological distancing in human-robot interaction

To seamlessly integrate into the human physical and social environment, robots must display appropriate proxemic behavior—that is, follow societal norms in establishing their physical and psychological distancing with people. Socialscientific theories suggest competing models of human proxemic behavior, but all conclude that individuals’ proxemic behavior is shaped by the proxemic behavior of others and the individual’s psychological closeness to them. The present study explores whether these models can also explain how people physically and psychologically distance themselves from robots and suggest guidelines for future design of proxemic behaviors for robots. In a controlled laboratory experiment, participants interacted with Wakamaru to perform two tasks that examined physical and psychological distancing of the participants. We manipulated the likeability (likeable/dislikeable) and gaze behavior (mutual gaze/averted gaze) of the robot. Our results on physical distancing sho...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: HRI
• Authors: Jonathan Mumm, Bilge Mutlu
• Keywords: Gaze Behavior, HRI 2011, Human Computer Interaction, Human Robot Interaction, Interaction Categories