Presentation
Understanding Social Engagement in Voice-User Interfaces: An Exploratory Study of Embodiment and Gestures
SessionUX: Social Systems
DescriptionHuman-robot interaction (HRI) researchers have been trying to understand how the social robot designs affect social engagement. Previous work has been mainly focused on the appearance of robots for user engagement. With voice being one of the common methods for interaction, it is important to understand how different embodiment and gestures can intrigue the engagement in voice-based interaction. To understand the factors contributing to the engagement, we conducted controlled-lab experiments with 36 participants who completed an interactive session involving a social robot and a voice-user interface (VUI). Participants were randomly assigned to interact with one of three research conditions (VUI, a social robot with VUI, and a social robot with gestures and VUI). We hypothesized that participants would highly engage in the interaction with a social robot embedded with VUI and gestures. However, the results indicate that voice-based interaction itself intrigues social engagement, regardless of the embodiment. The findings suggest that the robot's ability to have an interpersonal and natural conversation has stronger impacts on social engagement. The results further highlight the importance of the non-verbal behaviors observed during the interactions. This work provides the exploratory understandings of social interaction between humans and a social robot with varied features.
Event Type
Industry/Practitioner Content
Lecture
UX Miniconference
TimeWednesday, October 15th2:10pm - 2:30pm CDT
LocationGrand Hall M/N
User Experience
UX Mini-Conference