How to Include Humanoid Robots into Experimental Research: A Multi-Step Approach

Abstract

Robots have penetrated many areas of daily life, including increased uses of humanoid robots in personal and organizational settings such as health care, eldercare, and service encounters with customers. Little research examines humanoid robots in these professional settings, even though the human-robot interaction (HRI) is particularly critical in such contexts. On the basis of a literature review and experience from several experimental studies, this article offers some guidance for designing HRI experiments with humanoid robots. In addition to detailing major challenges associated with designing HRI studies, this article suggests important next steps for experimental research with humanoid robots, as well as implications for further study.