What Can Actors Teach Robots About Interaction?

David V. Lu, Annamaria Pileggi, Chris Wilson, William D. Smart

Department of Computer Science and EngineeringPerforming Arts Department

Washington University in St. Louis

What Is This Paper

• Description of initial work• Where they plan to go with it– Movement “vocabulary”

• Robots used:– iRobot B21r mobile robot – Videre Design Erratic ERA

Social Interactions

• Timing is key– Nod example

• Subtle movements– Flick of eyes– Robots have difficulty

Literature Survey

• People treat non-animate objects as social actors– (Reeves & Nass 1996)

• Body pose, hand gestures, and eye-gaze direction signal changes initiating or terminating interactions, or facilitating turn-taking.– Cassell (2007)

• Robots are similar to animations, but far more engaging because of their physical presence.– Kidd & Breazeal (2004)

The Play

• Used a robot in an actual play– Over 100 in the audience– Remote controlled• Too difficult to get correct timing with program• Would mess up other actors

– Audience “accepted” the robot and the relationships• No quantitative data given to back claim

The Class

• “Fundamentals of Movement”• Flow exercise• Two groups– One remote controlled by professional actor– One acting randomly

• Students referred to robot as human– “He” – “Very present” – “Trusted”

• Allowed for further refinement of timing

The Exercises

• Three movement pieces– “Forgiveness”– Some with humans only – some with robot partners

• Practiced beforehand• Limited movement vocabulary• Robots running pre-timed set of actions• 33 people over 3 shows• Similar audience reactions