Issues in Assessing Performance of Social Robots

How can the performance of a social robot be measured? Are existing metrics and techniques appropriate for physically and socially embodied autonomous mobile robots? With the rapid expansion of robust robotic systems from strong industrial applications to domestic and entertainment domains which naturally involve social interactions, a requirement to gauge a system’s abilities either individually or relatively has emerged. This paper discusses the implications that arise in aiming to assess the performance of robots engaged in a degree of social interaction with people. Key-Words: social robotics, performance evaluation, anthropomorphism, artificial intelligence, robot metrics