Sonya S. Kwak

Focus group interview for designing a growing robot

This study describes preliminary research for designing a growing robot. To explore the interaction between a human and an object that changes physically through its growth, focus group interviews were conducted with participants who kept pets, plants, and a plant-like product. An appropriate target model for designing a growing robot, the value of raising living things, and the features of interaction that induce affinity were examined.

Effects of intergroup relations on people's acceptance of robots

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of intergroup relations on robots through comparison with other objects. In an experiment, participants watched eight stimuli drawn from four types of objects (people vs. robots vs. animals vs. products) according to two types of intergroup relations (in-group vs. out-group) and rated each stimuli in terms of familiarity, reliability, and preference. Regarding familiarity and reliability, the effect of intergroup relations on robots was greater than that on animals or products, but smaller than that on people. The degree of the effect regarding reliability was larger than that regarding familiarity for all types of object. In the case of preference, the effects of intergroup relations between people and robots and between animals and products were similar, and the effect on people and robots was greater than that on animals and products.

Entertainment robot personality design based on basic factors of motions: A case study with ROLLY

The objective of this study is to suggest a design guideline to build a personality for an entertainment robot, ROLLY based on basic factors of motions and their interrelations. Independent variables were the direction at two levels, the speed, the volume, and repetition at three levels as the basic factors of a motion. Dependent variables were dominance and friendliness as personality factors. Eighteen motion samples were designed with two or three levels of independent variables through the use of the orthogonal array of Taguchi. Participants watched eighteen motion samples in a random order and evaluated the personality factors (dominance and friendliness) based on each motion sample on a seven-point Likert scale. The results of the evaluation yielded basic guidelines to express robot personalities using motions while controlling the direction, speed, volume, and rate of repetition.

Dona: urban donation motivating robot

The rate of donations made by individuals is relatively low in Korea when compared to other developed countries. To address this problem, we propose the DONA, an urban donation motivating robot prototype. The robot roams around in a public space and solicits donation from passers-by by engaging them through a pet like interaction. In this paper, we present the prototype of the robot and our design process.

Application of unexpectedness to the behavioral design of an entertainment robot

The objectives of this study are to apply unexpectedness to the behavioral design of an entertainment robot and to evaluate the impression and satisfaction provided by the robot. Participants(N=44) observed four robot behaviors, which are distinguished by type of expectancy disconfirmation (positive disconfirmation, negative disconfirmation, simply confirmation, unexpected disconfirmation), and evaluated each behavior in terms of novelty, enjoyment, satisfaction, performance, and reliability. Participants perceived the unexpected disconfirmation behavior to be more novel and enjoyable such that they preferred this type over the other types. On the other hand, they evaluated the positive disconfirmation behavior as more intelligent and reliable than the other types. These findings will provide an essential basis for designing the behavior of an entertainment robot with the use of unexpectedness.