Investigating the role of different social cues in the human perception of a social robotic arm

The use of robotic arms in the rehabilitation context is increasing, leveraging the robotic capabilities related to object manipulation. Similarly, social robots are used in rehabilitation to provide features of social interaction with people. Even though these two robotic aspects are gaining visibility, the combination of both manipulation and social capabilities is often neglected. This work aims at filling this gap, introducing both manipulation and social capabilities in a scenario of human-robot interaction for rehabilitation. This work will define the best social configuration for a robotic arm, in terms of social cues. In particular, sound and expressive eyes cues will be linked to social movements designed using Laban Movement Analysis. Various combinations of movements and social cues will be combined and embedded in a robotic arm. Then 15 participants are recruited and asked to perform a human-robot interaction task (handover) with the robotic arm. A questionnaire is used to evaluate the user impressions in terms of Valence, Arousal, the Godspeed components of Animacy and Safety, and two custom questions related to movement fluidity and likeability. The results show that the best combination for this exercise is the one where both sound and eyes are present, even though the data show high scores of Arousal and Animacy for the configuration composed of only sound and movement.