Human-Drone Interaction Failures

Abstract: Drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly important in recent years. They are essential in many areas, such as crop monitoring and delivering critical medicine to hard-to-reach areas. This thesis delves into the often-overlooked aspect of failures within the multidisciplinary Human Drone Interactions (HDI) field. Specifically, it examines how these failures correlate with two dependent variables: trust and risk-taking. Despite the importance of understanding failures in HDI for its wider acceptance and integration, there is an evident gap in research on this topic, highlighting the importance of this work. Previous studies indicate that trust in emerging technologies is pivotal in their adoption. To investigate the correlations in question, a user study was conducted in which participants operated a drone within a confined space, navigating an obstacle course for a monetary reward. The experiment was divided into two trial blocks. Specific failures were simulated during one of the trial blocks, the failure trial block. The nonfailure trial block included no simulated failures. Participants were subject to both trial blocks in randomized orders. Subsequently, participants were surveyed on trust and risk aversion. Our findings revealed a statistically significant correlation between HDI failures and diminished trust. However, no discernible connection between HDI failures and risk-taking was observed. The results are interesting as they suggest that failures could cause lower trust in drones.