Exploring movement qualities in reciprocal engagement

In this paper we present three behaviour designs for a robot's movement that extend and explore qualities of the perceptual-crossing paradigm in relation to functional purposes. As defined by [1], perceptual-crossing is related to the perception of how the behaviour of an entity/object and its perception relate to interacting entities/actors. Within three simple scenarios, movement behaviour designs are applied that negotiate the behaviour of both actors in interaction. For instance, when a robot and a person face a door and they both intend to go through it, a designed behaviour negotiates who is to go first in appropriate manner, either the human or the robot. The work is presented on the level of both theoretical and practical application, followed by an experimental activity. With this work we hope to inspire design thinking to shift from discrete, procedural design mechanisms to continuous and action-driven mechanisms when addressing interaction between humans and systems.