How Socially Assistive Robots Supporting on Cognitive Tasks Perform

Understanding the effects of Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) on human’s task performance is crucial for designing powerful assistive systems. A variety of interaction design questions have to be taken into account in order to implement SAR. We present the results of a case-control study (no robot present vs. robot giving generic motivational feedback vs. robot giving task performance related feedback) for a scenario in which a SAR assists users on a cognitive task. Results show that SARs can have positive effects on user’s task performance on cognitive tasks and that the task is perceived as pleasurable if the robot’s feedback is appropriate to the user’s task processing.

[1]  Goldie Nejat,et al.  Social Intelligence for a Robot Engaging People in Cognitive Training Activities , 2012 .

[2]  Britta Wrede,et al.  Social facilitation with social robots? , 2012, 2012 7th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).

[3]  Tatsuya Nomura,et al.  Prediction of Human Behavior in Human--Robot Interaction Using Psychological Scales for Anxiety and Negative Attitudes Toward Robots , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

[4]  H. F. Machiel Van der Loos,et al.  Robotic stroke therapy assistant , 2003, Robotica.

[5]  Holly A. Yanco,et al.  Wheelesley: A Robotic Wheelchair System: Indoor Navigation and User Interface , 1998, Assistive Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

[6]  Maja J. Mataric,et al.  Robot motivator: Increasing user enjoyment and performance on a physical/cognitive task , 2010, 2010 IEEE 9th International Conference on Development and Learning.

[7]  Cynthia Breazeal,et al.  Robots at home: Understanding long-term human-robot interaction , 2008, 2008 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[8]  Sebastian Wrede,et al.  Effects of Different Robot Interaction Strategies During Cognitive Tasks , 2012, ICSR.

[9]  Jaap Ham,et al.  A robot that says “bad!”: Using negative and positive social feedback from a robotic agent to save energy , 2009, 2009 4th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).

[10]  M. Matarić,et al.  The use of socially assistive robots in the design of intelligent cognitive therapies for people with dementia , 2009, 2009 IEEE International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics.

[11]  Brian Scassellati,et al.  The Physical Presence of a Robot Tutor Increases Cognitive Learning Gains , 2012, CogSci.

[12]  Illah R. Nourbakhsh,et al.  A survey of socially interactive robots , 2003, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[13]  Pierre Blazevic,et al.  Mechatronic design of NAO humanoid , 2009, 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[14]  Joseph F. Engelberger,et al.  Robotics in Service , 1989 .