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Using Theatre to Study Interaction with Care Robots

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Abstract

This paper describes an innovative approach for studying interaction between humans and care robots. Using live theatrical performance, we developed a play that depicts a plausible, future care scenario between a human and a socially assistive robot. We used an expanded version of the Godspeed Questionnaire to measure the audiences’ reactions to the robot, the observed interactions between the human and the robot, and their overall reactions to the performance. We present our results and propose a methodology and guidelines for using applied theatre as a platform to study human robot interaction (HRI). Unlike other HRI studies, the subject of our research is not the user who interacts with the robot but rather the audiences observing the HRI. We consider the technical and artistic challenges of designing and staging a believable care scenario that could potentially influence the perception and acceptance of care robots. This study marks a first step towards designing a robust framework for combining applied theatre with HRI research.

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Acknowledgments

This work is (partially) funded by the The Danish Council for Independent Research \({\vert }\) Technology and Production Sciences (Grant DFF – 1335-00162). The authors wish to thank Xiaodong Duan, Nicolai Bæk Thomsen, Jakob Højgård Jørgensen, Niels Valentin, Steen Jørgensen, and John Nybo Larsen for their help on the iSocioBot project (http://socialrobot.dk). We also wish to thank the reviewers for their insight and encouragement. The play was produced at Theatre Nordkraft in Aalborg, Denmark and at Copenhagen Theatre Circle Fringe Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark (http://www.teaternordkraft.dk).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University, Rendsburggade 14, 9000, Aalborg, Denmark

    Elizabeth Jochum, Anja Christoffersen & Sally Grindsted Nielsen

  2. Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7B, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark

    Evgenios Vlachos & Zheng-Hua Tan

  3. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 6009, Ålesund, Norway

    Ibrahim A. Hameed

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Jochum
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  2. Evgenios Vlachos
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  3. Anja Christoffersen
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  4. Sally Grindsted Nielsen
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  5. Ibrahim A. Hameed
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  6. Zheng-Hua Tan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth Jochum.

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Appendix

Appendix

Sample dialogue from Cornell script.

ZOEY. (Touches the computer to see a question) Let’s continue with the questions, shall we? (The robot nods). Tell your partner something that you like about them already.

ROBOT. (Slight pause) I like the tone of your voice. And I like your Social Security number.

ZOEY. My Social Security number? That’s one line I’ve certainly never heard before...very original. Well done! Why? (Looks very surprised by the robot’s answer).

ROBOT. The tone of your voice is harmonic, and your Social Security number is an integer that is not evenly divisible by two.

ZOEY. (Excited that she succeeded at eliciting an “original” response) Cool ...Next question!

ROBOT. Question number twenty-seven: If you were to become close friends with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.

ZOEY. (Thinks shortly before answering) I would like him to know that I hate rain, that I really like music from the 80s like (Quickly sings something from The Pretenders), and (clearing her throat as she seems ashamed to say it) that I am probably gonna have some troubles remembering things from my past – you know, because of the accident.

ROBOT. Thank you. (The robot waves and blinks)

ZOEY. Now you. Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.

ROBOT. (He scans her quickly as if assessing her) Easy. Number One: the rain. You don’t like it, and I am not waterproof, and I am liable to short-circuit in the rain. Number two: the past: you tend to forget yours, and I don’t have one. Number Three: It appears as though we are connected to the same Wi-Fi router. Those are three commonalities.

ZOEY. Ha-ha! That’s true.

A full recording of the live performance is available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KORmeKa4m1k&feature=youtu.be.

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Jochum, E., Vlachos, E., Christoffersen, A. et al. Using Theatre to Study Interaction with Care Robots. Int J of Soc Robotics 8, 457–470 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-016-0370-y

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