IRES Track One: Involving Undergraduates in Research on Design and Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Cuteness in Robotic Gadgets

随着机器人设备最终在日常生活中变得越来越常见，机器人专家设计出被不同用户接受的设备是至关重要的。美国DePauw大学和日本Shibaura理工学院的这项合作将使人们更深入地理解可爱在促进人类对机器人设备的积极反应和接受方面所起的作用。基于与日本人的可爱概念相关的研究，该项目涉及设计具有不同可爱程度和类型的机器人小工具的原型，并进行多地点、跨文化的用户研究，以评估用户S对不同设计的反应。这项研究的一个长期目标是加深我们对设计师如何利用卡瓦伊的概念来制造被不同用户接受的机器人小玩意的理解。该项目在个人和群体层面为12名学生组成的不同群体提供教育和研究经验，其中包括四名本科生，每三个暑期参加一次。在前往日本之前，学生们将完成由两名DePauw教员与三名Shibaura Institute of Technology教员远程贡献的合作领导的文化和技术准备活动。然后，每个学生将在Shibaura学院教职员工的主要指导下，在DePauw教员的远程和现场指导下，在Shibaura理工学院进行为期七周的研究。除了介绍机器人小工具的包容性设计实践外，该项目还将成为德堡大学和Shibaura理工学院之间正在进行的合作的催化剂。卡哇伊(日式可爱)的概念被认为是日本设计的基本元素，在包括机器人和机器人小玩意在内的低技术和高科技产品中都很常见。卡哇伊越来越多地被纳入全球使用的成功产品中。一个对象？S的可信度是其情感的重要组成部分，它可能会影响一个用户？S对该对象的喜好和接受程度。该项目团队和其他人之前发表的文章已经研究了简单静态物体中卡哇伊的几个方面，包括跨文化和性别的分析。其他研究也评估了机器人的各种情感特性。在之前工作的基础上，DePauw和Shibaura的合作将调查与卡哇伊的认知相关的跨文化和性别差异，特别是在机器人小工具方面，目的是了解如何设计出被不同用户接受的设备。每个学生都将完成一个项目，该项目涉及设计和制作特定领域机器人小工具的几个版本(具有不同程度和类型的卡瓦伊)，然后从用户研究套件中进行一个或多个实验，使用通过自我报告和/或生物传感器获得的测量结果来衡量用户对这些小工具的情绪反应。我们将收集日本和美国受试者的数据，这将使我们能够比较不同文化和性别的用户反应。在进行一项涉及机器人设备原型的跨文化、多地点用户研究时，一个挑战涉及可复制性。建造几个相同的原型以供不同地点使用是困难的，更困难的是建造包含不同卡哇伊特性的每个原型的几个版本。因此，我们将探索使用传统视频以及立体3D视频来记录每个原型，并将原型一致地呈现给不同地点的用户。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As robotic gadgets, and eventually robots, become increasingly common in daily life, it is critical that roboticists design devices that are accepted by diverse users. This collaboration between DePauw University in the United States and Shibaura Institute of Technology in Japan will lead to a deeper understanding of the role that cuteness plays in fostering positive human response to, and acceptance of, robotic gadgets. Building on research related to the Japanese concept of kawaii (Japanese cuteness), this project involves designing prototypes of robotic gadgets with varying levels and types of cuteness, and conducting multi-site, cross-cultural user studies that evaluate user?s reactions to varied designs. A long-term goal of this research is to deepen our understanding of how designers can use the concept of kawaii to build robotic gadgets that are accepted by diverse users. The project provides educational and research experiences, at the individual and cohort level, for a diverse group of twelve students comprised of four undergraduates participating in each of three summers. Before departing for Japan, students will complete cultural and technical preparatory activities led collaboratively by two DePauw faculty members with remote contributions from three Shibaura Institute of Technology faculty members. Each student will then conduct research for seven weeks at Shibaura Institute of Technology under the primary mentorship of the Shibaura faculty members with supplemental remote and on-site mentorship from the DePauw faculty members. In addition to informing inclusive design practices for robotic gadgets, the project will serve as a catalyst for ongoing collaborations between DePauw University and Shibaura Institute of Technology. The concept of kawaii (Japanese cuteness) is considered an essential element of Japanese design and is commonly seen in both low-tech and high-tech products including robots and robotic gadgets. Increasingly, kawaii is incorporated into successful products that are used globally. An object?s kawaii-ness is an important part of its affect, which may influence a user?s likability and acceptance of the object. Previous publications by the project team and others have investigated several aspects of kawaii in simple static objects, including analysis across cultures and genders. Other researches have evaluated various affective properties of robots. Building on prior work, the DePauw-Shibaura collaboration will investigate cross-cultural and gender differences related to perceptions of kawaii, specifically in robotic gadgets, with the aim of understanding how to design devices that are accepted by diverse users. Each student will work on a project that involves designing and prototyping several versions (with varying degrees and types of kawaii-ness) of a domain-specific robotic gadget, and then conducting one or more experiments from a user-study suite that measures a user?s emotional reaction to the gadgets using measurements obtained through self-reports and/or biosensors. We will gather data from subjects in both Japan and the United States, which will allow us to compare user reactions across both culture and gender. One challenge in running a cross-cultural, multi-site user study involving prototypes of robotic gadgets involves replicability. It is difficult to build several identical prototypes for use at different sites and even more difficult to build several versions of each prototype that incorporate different kawaii properties. Therefore, we will explore the use of traditional video, as well as stereoscopic 3D video, to record each prototype and to present the prototype consistently to users at different sites.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.