Non-verbal auditory aspects of human-service robot interaction

Lee, J. S. A., Bin Abbas, M. F., Seow, C. K. , Cao, Q. , Yar, K. P., Keoh, S. L. and McLoughlin, I. (2022) Non-verbal auditory aspects of human-service robot interaction. In: The 15th IEEE International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (SOLI 2021), Singapore, 11 - 12 December 2021, ISBN 9781665467223 (doi: 10.1109/SOLI54607.2021.9672366)

Abstract

As service robots become ever more pervasive, the number, degree and depth of interaction with humans, particularly fellow workers, is increasing rapidly. Humans are generally shaped alike, respond in predominantly similar ways and are often inherently predictable to other humans. Robots, by contrast, have an exceptional diversity of size, shape, mobility, function, and their intentions or actions are often less predictable. Humans working in close proximity have learnt to provide cues to their behaviour, both verbal and non-verbal, and we argue that this is an important aspect of maintaining both safety and comfort in a mixed work or social environment. At present, robots do not provide any such cues to their fellow workers, which can be cause of human discomfort, and indeed contribute to safety issues when working in close proximity to humans. This paper considers the non-verbal auditory aspects of interaction in a work environment, with particular emphasis on safe and comfortable integration of service robots into such locations. In particular, we propose a classification of interaction levels to inform the construction, programming and operation of robots in the workplace.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Keoh, Dr Sye Loong and Cao, Dr Qi and Seow, Dr Chee Kiat
• Authors: Lee, J. S. A., Bin Abbas, M. F., Seow, C. K., Cao, Q., Yar, K. P., Keoh, S. L., and McLoughlin, I.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• ISBN: 9781665467223
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in 15th IEEE International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (SOLI 2021)
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy