Yunkyung Kim

What makes people empathize with an emotional robot?: The impact of agency and physical embodiment on human empathy for a robot

As empathy is important for the emotional interaction between a human and a robot, the design factors which induce human empathy toward robots need to be explored. Human empathy toward a robot can be affected by the presence of a robot. Thus, we focused on the levels of agency and the physical embodiment of a robot, which are influential factors pertaining to social presence, by executing two experiments. In the first experiment, in a 2 (levels of agency: mediated vs. simulated) between-participants experiment, participants interacted with either a mediated robot which delivers the emotional state of a remote user or a simulated robot which expresses its own emotion. Participants empathized more with the mediated robot than with the simulated robot, demonstrating that the proper form of an emotional robot is as a mediator during emotional interaction between people. In the second study, in a 2 (physical embodiment: physically embodied vs. physically disembodied) between-participants experiment design, participants interacted with either a physically embodied robot or a physically disembodied robot. The results showed that participants empathized more with a physically embodied robot than with a physically disembodied robot, indicating the impact of physical embodiment on human empathy. Implications for the design of human-robot interactions are discussed.

How social distance shapes human-robot interaction

Abstract This paper investigates how social distance can serve as a lens through which we can understand human–robot relationships and develop guidelines for robot design. In two studies, we examine the effects of distance based on physical proximity (proxemic distance), organizational status (power distance), and task structure (task distance) on people׳s experiences with and perceptions of a humanlike robot. In Study 1, participants (n=32) played a card-matching game with a humanlike robot. We manipulated the power distance (supervisor vs. subordinate) and proxemic distance (close vs. distant) between participants and the robot. Participants who interacted with the supervisor robot reported a more positive user experience when the robot was close than when the robot was distant, while interactions with the subordinate robot resulted in a more positive experience when the robot was distant than when the robot was close. In Study 2, participants (n=32) played the game in two different task distances (cooperation vs. competition) and proxemic distances (close vs. distant). Participants who cooperated with the robot reported a more positive experience when the robot was distant than when it was close. In contrast, competing with the robot resulted in a more positive experience when it was close than when the robot was distant. The findings from the two studies highlight the importance of consistency between the status and proxemic behaviors of the robot and of task interdependency in fostering cooperation between the robot and its users. This work also demonstrates how social distance may guide efforts toward a better understanding of human–robot interaction and the development of effective design guidelines.

The ténéré: design for supporting energy conservation behaviors

We present the Ténéré, electric power extension cords, designed to support peoples energy conservation behaviors. The focus of design solutions was to provide appropriate energy awareness information in meaningful and emotional ways while products are being used. A narrative of tree was used to indicate energy use. The Tree of Tenere was the most isolated tree in the world. The tree is dead now and replace by a tree-like sculpture. It symbolizes the environmental consequences of human activity. When users overuse electricity, the graphics of the tree is transformed to the sculpture. This interactive graphics on the product encourages sustainable behaviors. Users are expected to be impressed and change their energy behaviors. Also we verified narrative-embedding approach is considerable method for industrial design field.

Are you embarrassed?: the impact of robot types on emotional engagement with a robot

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of robot types on emotional communication between a person and a robot. We executed a 2 (robot types: an autonomous robot vs. a tele-operated robot) within-participants experiment

Have you ever lied?: the impacts of gaze avoidance on people's perception of a robot

( N=36)

Effects of intergroup relations on people's acceptance of robots

. Participants were interviewed with either autonomous robot interviewers or tele-operated robot interviewers, and asked how much they felt social presence of robot interviewers and embarrassment toward robot interviewers. Participants felt more social presence to tele-operated robots than autonomous robots. Moreover, participants felt more embarrassment when they were interviewed with tele-operated robots than autonomous robots.

Come on in!: A strategic way to intend approachability to a space by using motions of a robotic partition

In human-human interaction, gaze avoidance is usually interpreted as having intention to escape from an embarrassing situation. This study explores whether gaze avoidance by a robot can be delivered as an intention, and whether this intention can make a robot perceived as having sociability and intelligence. We executed a 2 (question type: normal vs. embarrassing) × 2 (gaze type: gaze vs. gaze avoidance) within-participants experiment (N=24). In an embarrassing situation, a robot with gaze avoidance is perceived as more sociable and intelligent than a robot that holds its gaze, while the robot that holds its gaze in a normal situation is perceived as more sociable and intelligent than a robot with gaze avoidance. Implications for the design of human-robot interactions are discussed.

The impacts of intergroup relations and body zones on people's acceptance of a robot

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.

HRI pioneers workshop 2013

Interactive space has been suggested as a future direction for architectural development on the basis of technological advances, and the design factors that affect the user experience of space thus need to be explored. Motion is one of the critical means of affective expression for facial-constrained and verbal-constrained robots such as functional robots. This paper introduces an interactive robotic partition that recognizes a person around it and reacts to the person by expressing physical motions. Using the robotic partition, we conducted a 7 (type of motions: moving toward, moving away, expanding, contracting, incurving, outcurving, and trembling) × 2 (user perspective: approaching to the partition vs. sitting inside the partition) within-participants experiment (N = 28). Participants showed higher approachability to the space and greater preference for incurving and expanding motions than trembling motion. The results also showed an interaction effect between motion and user perspective. When the partition expressed moving toward and expanding motions, participants in a sitting perspective reported higher approachability and greater preference than participants with an approaching perspective whereas opposite results were revealed when the partition showed moving toward and contracting motions. Implications for design are discussed.

Am I acceptable to you? Effect of a robot's verbal language forms on people's social distance from robots

This study explores social distance management as a strategic way to alleviate peoples dissatisfaction with a vacuum cleaning robot, particularly when the robot requires an unpleasant favor. We executed a 2 (intergroup relations: out-group vs. in-group) × 3 (body zones: close vs. 40cm vs. 1m) mixed-participants experiment (N=36). People evaluated the impressions and service of out-group robots more positively as the distance of asking for a favor became shorter, while they preferred in-group robots as the distance became greater.