Remote-HRI: A Pilot Study to Evaluate a Methodology for Performing HRI Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The essential component of studying how humans and robots relate is to observe how they interact with each other. This fact has been taken for granted until the COVID-19 pandemic made all such HRI study-based interactions verboten. We address the question of how HRI research can continue in an environment where physical distancing is the most effective approach to containing the spread of the disease. In this paper we present a pilot study that indicates that Remote-HRI (R-HRI) studies can be a feasible alternative. The results suggest, importantly, that whether the participant interacts with the robot in-person (but physically-distanced) or remotely, their perception of the robots is unaffected. We observed increased effort and frustration by participants when interacting remotely with the robot – for which there may be an underlying cultural cause. However, all participants completed their tasks with the robot and had a neutral to positive experience using it.