Carl F. DiSalvo

All robots are not created equal: the design and perception of humanoid robot heads

This paper presents design research conducted as part of a larger project on human-robot interaction. The primary goal of this study was to come to an initial understanding of what features and dimensions of a humanoid robots face most dramatically contribute to peoples perception of its humanness. To answer this question we analyzed 48 robots and conducted surveys to measure peoples perception of each robots humanness. Through our research we found that the presence of certain features, the dimensions of the head, and the total number of facial features heavily influence the perception of humanness in robot heads. This paper presents our findings and initial guidelines for the design of humanoid robot heads.

The Hug: an exploration of robotic form for intimate communication

As advances in robotics create robust technology capable of being deployed in the home, design serves an important role shaping how robots will be experienced in accessible, appropriate, and compelling manners. The designers task of shaping technology is fundamentally concerned with the creation of form. Form is the total expression of a product, including physical shape, materials, and behavioral qualities. In creating form, design balances the needs of people, the capabilities of technology, and the context of use to support an activity or action. In this paper we present The Hug, a conceptual design exploration of form for a robotic product that facilitates intimate communication across distance. We discuss the role of form in constructing meaningful relationships through The Hug and other robotic products.

From seduction to fulfillment: the use of anthropomorphic form in design

In this paper, we discuss the use of anthropomorphic form in the design of products. We assert that anthropomorphic form is not merely an embellishment but that it can be used as a means of solving design problems. Through a series of examples we illustrate the various uses of anthropomorphic form in the design of products. Our distinctions provide designers and researchers a way to classify and understand the use of anthropomorphic form in design and in doing so, increase the potential that anthropomorphic form be used in an appropriate and compelling manner.

The Hug: a new form for communication

Recent advances in telecommunication and wireless networking technology have exploded the possibilities for remote communication between people.We present a product called the Hug as a challenge to familiar telecommunication products. A visionary design born out of research with elders, the Hug addresses a very human need for physical closeness in remote communications. It uses the same network infrastructure as many appliances today, but places a new face on human product interaction.

Socially Distributed Perception: GRACE plays social tag at AAAI 2005

This paper presents a robot search task (social tag) that uses social interaction, in the form of asking for help, as an integral component of task completion. Socially distributed perception is defined as a robots ability to augment its limited sensory capacities through social interaction. We describe the task of social tag and its implementation on the robot GRACE for the AAAI 2005 Mobile Robot Competition & Exhibition. We then discuss our observations and analyses of GRACEs performance as a situated interaction with conference participants. Our results suggest we were successful in promoting a form of social interaction that allowed people to help the robot achieve its goal. Furthermore, we found that different social uses of the physical space had an effect on the nature of the interaction. Finally, we discuss the implications of this design approach for effective and compelling human-robot interaction, considering its relationship to concepts such as dependency, mixed initiative, and socially distributed cognition.

On the Relationship between Emotion, Experience and the Design of New Products

As people become more sensitive to dimensions of products that go beyond traditional aspects of usability, the need to understand emotion and experience and their implications for product design increases. This paper presents an approach to emotion and experience that is useful for designers. We present three prominent approaches to emotion and experience expressed by Dewey, a philosopher, Carlson, a cognitive scientist, and Csikszentmihalyi, a social scientist. We synthesize commonalities and differences in this work into a generative framework that is meant to help designers discover product opportunities to stimulate, enhance, or change emotional experience.

A Roadmap for Technology Literacy and a Vehicle for Getting There: Educational Robotics and the TeRK Project

Current technology literacy trends in the United States show declining interest and engagement in technological fields of study. We propose a roadmap by which robotics applications can enliven technology education and capture the interest of new students. We also describe our current efforts to design appropriate technologies and apply them at the middle school, high school, and college levels

Socially distributed perception

This paper presents a robot search task (social tag) that uses social interaction, in the form of asking for help, as an integral component of task completion. We define socially distributed perception as a robots ability to augment its limited sensory capacities through social interaction.

Perceptive sorting: a method for understanding responses to products

Products engender complex experiences that go far beyond aesthetics and ease of use. We believe that by better understanding peoples functional and emotional relationships to existing products, we might better understand how to design future products. This paper presents the Perceptive Sorting exercise (PS), a method inspired by the field of visual research to gain responses to product familiarity, product function, and aesthetic considerations. We report on a study using the PS with coffeemakers, watches, and consumer robotic products. The results provided information about how participants assess product attributes, assign value, and tell stories of product use.