Physicality in Human-Robot Interaction: Form, Movement, Proxemics and Touch

预计在不久的将来，机器人将变得更加普遍，在我们的家里和日常任务中提供服务和协助我们。人-机器人交互(HRI)的基本问题是，只有当机器人被社会接受时，与机器人的交互才会有效：仅有功能是不够的。因此，我的长期研究目标是基于对人类与机器人关系的深入理解，设计、实施和评估社会可接受的机器人界面。为了实现这一点，我目前的研究重点是探索机器人与其他计算机本质上的不同之处，特别是研究：(I)它们的物理性和(Ii)它们与人(或社会学术语中的“代理”)的动态空间关系。**我的研究计划提供了三组结果，涉及：1.原型，2.工具和3.模型：**(1)HRI物理试验台原型。开发HRI原型，每个原型都能够评估特定的机器人物理属性，如机器人的形状和运动、代理行为以及机器人与人之间的直接接触。这些互动原型将从人形机器人到机器人动物和飞行无人机，旨在与共处一地的用户进行评估。(2)HRI代理工具包和算法。开发和整合先进的机器人传感技术和算法，以及HRI工具包，用于制作和分析机器人接口的原型性和与物理相关的属性。以及，(3)HRI物理模型和指标模型。应用于机器人接口的代理模型的理论发展，以及将为未来机器人接口的设计提供信息的HRI设计原理和启发式。**贡献包括对HRI中物理的理论和实践方面提供更深入的理解的模型，这将使设计更能被社会接受的人-机器人接口，一组新的机器人接口原型说明这些方面，以及计算机科学算法和工具，用于快速原型这类系统。我的研究计划为学生提供开发先进计算机技术以及设计、实施和评估新用户界面所需的技能。**

Robots are expected to become more common in the near future, providing services and assisting us in our homes and in everyday tasks. The fundamental human-robot interaction (HRI) problem is that interaction with robots will be effective only if they are socially acceptable to people: function alone is not enough. Consequently my long term research goal is to design, implement and evaluate socially acceptable robotic interfaces based on deep understanding of people's relationships with robots. To achieve this, my immediate research focus is exploring how robots inherently differ from other computers, particularly studying: (i) their physicality and (ii) their dynamic spatial relationships with people (or 'proxemics', in Sociology terms).**My research program delivers three groups of outcomes, relating to: 1. prototypes, 2. tools and 3. models: **(1) HRI physicality testbed prototypes. Development of HRI prototypes, each enabling evaluation of specific robotic physical attributes, such as robots' form and movement, proxemics behaviour and direct touch between robots and people. These interactive prototypes will range from humanoids to robotic animals and flying drones, designed to be evaluated with co-located users. (2) HRI proxemics toolkits and algorithms. Development and integration of advanced robotic sensing techniques and algorithms, as well as HRI toolkits geared at prototyping and analyzing proxemics and physicality-related attributes of robotic interfaces. And, (3) HRI physicality and proxemics models. Theory development of proxemics models applied to robotic interfaces, and HRI design rationale and heuristics that will inform the design of future robotic interfaces.**Contributions include models offering a deeper understanding of the theoretical and practical aspects of physicality in HRI, which will enable the design of more socially acceptable human-robot interfaces, a set of new robotic interface prototypes illustrating these aspects, and computer science algorithms and tools for rapidly prototyping such systems. My research program provides students with skills required for developing advanced computer technologies and for designing, implementing and evaluating novel user interfaces.**