Investigating Augmented Reality for Improving Child-Robot Interaction

Abstract: Communication in HRI, both verbal and non-verbal, can be hard for a robot to interpret and to convey which can lead to misinterpretations by both the human and the robot. In this thesis we look at answering the question if AR can be used to improve communication of a social robot’s intentions when interacting with children. We looked at behaviors such as getting children to pick up a cube, place a cube, give the cube to another child, tap the cube and shake the cube. We found that picking the cube was the most successful and reliable behavior and that most behaviors were slightly better with AR. Additionally, endorsement behavior was found to be necessary to engage the children, however, it needs to be quicker, more responsive and clearer. In conclusion, there is potential for using AR to improve the intent communication of a robot, but in many cases, the robot behavior alone was already quite clear. A larger study would need to be conducted to further explore this.