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Methodological Issues in Scenario-Based Evaluation of Human–Robot Interaction

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Abstract

Scenarios have been widely used for evaluating human–robot interactions (HRIs). However, little has been reported on systematic utilization of different types of media for deploying HRI scenarios. This study investigates the methodological issues in scenario-based HRI evaluation, focusing on the effect of scenario media on user attitudes toward robots. Two experiments are designed to examine how scenario media may influence the elder adults’ attitudes towards social robots. Different types of scenario media, including text, video, interactive video, and live interaction, were compared systematically with respect to established evaluation criteria. The results showed that the characteristics of scenario media influenced users’ acceptance of robots and affected their attitudes. The outcome of the study helps designers to select scenario media for deploying contextual information of HRI.

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Acknowledgments

The work was supported by Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) Thematic Strategic Research Programme (TSRP) grant on Human Factors Engineering (#092 153 0090).

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Correspondence to Qianli Xu.

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Xu, Q., Ng, J., Tan, O. et al. Methodological Issues in Scenario-Based Evaluation of Human–Robot Interaction. Int J of Soc Robotics 7, 279–291 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-014-0248-9

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