It seems obvious that the way a robot moves would affect how people interact with it, and whether they consider it easy or safe to be near. But what poses and movement types specifically are reassuring or alarming? Disney Research looked into a few of the possibilities of how a robot might approach a simple interaction with a nearby human.
The study had people picking up a baton with a magnet at one end and passing it to a robotic arm, which would automatically move to collect the baton with its own magnet.
But the researchers threw variations into the mix to see how they affected how the forces involved, how people moved, and what they felt about the interaction. The robot had two types each of three phases: movement into position, grasping the object, and removing it from the person’s hand.
For movement, it either started hanging down inertly and sprung up to move into position, or it began already partly raised. The latter condition was found to make people accommodate the robot more, putting the baton into a more natural position for it to grab. Makes sense — when you …read more
Source:: TechCrunch Gadgets
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