Impact of Multi-Robot Presence and Anthropomorphism on Human Cognition and Emotion

Title of the Paper

Impact of Multi-Robot Presence and Anthropomorphism on Human Cognition and Emotion

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) and Robot Design
• Keywords: Social Facilitation, Multi-Robot Systems, Anthropomorphism, Robotic Companions, Social Robots, Group Robot Movement Patterns, User Emotional Cognition

Research Background and Problem

• Issues or Challenges:

  1. The impact of robots on human cognition and emotion is a significant research direction, but current studies mostly focus on single robots and static interactions, neglecting the real effects of physical movement, non-anthropomorphic designs, and multi-robot scenarios;
  2. The simultaneous presence of multiple robots and their movement patterns are becoming increasingly common in real life, but there is no systematic research on their specific effects on human task performance and emotions.

• Significance and Research Motivation:

  1. Robots are widely applied in modern life, not only as productivity tools but also in roles such as education and social companionship;
  2. Understanding the impact of robot design parameters (e.g., degree of anthropomorphism, number, movement patterns) on human behavior and emotions can advance the development of robot technologies and environments that better meet human needs.

• Related Work:

  1. The "social facilitation effect" in social psychology has been proven to be closely related to human-robot interaction;
  2. Previous studies have largely focused on virtual robots or emphasized static features of robots (e.g., facial expressions), without integrating the dynamic characteristics of physical movement, non-anthropomorphic robots, or multi-robot clusters.

Solution

• Methods and Solutions: The authors conducted a comparative experiment to explore the effects of robot presence (anthropomorphic vs. non-anthropomorphic) and their dynamic characteristics (number, movement patterns) on human cognitive performance (task completion) and emotional responses (e.g., feeling judged, emotional evaluation).

• Innovations:

  1. The study extends from single robots to multiple robots, simulating the impact of multi-robot clusters on task performance and emotional evaluation;
  2. Real physical robots were introduced to address the limitations of experiments with virtual robots;
  3. Complex task scenarios were studied, including cognitive tasks of two difficulty levels and different group movement patterns (e.g., random movement, dispersed-convergent patterns, and circular movement patterns).

• Implementation Steps:

  1. Experimental Design:
     • Sixteen participants completed two cognitive tasks (word recall task and arithmetic task) under different conditions (alone, human presence, single robot, multiple robots with random movement, multiple robots with patterned movement);
     • Robots were divided into anthropomorphic (e.g., NAO robots) and non-anthropomorphic groups (e.g., Toio robots).
  2. Measurement Indicators:
     • Accuracy and completion time for the two cognitive tasks;
     • Emotional responses and feelings of being judged were measured using the PAD emotional scale.
  3. Experimental Method:
     • A fully randomized Latin square design was used to control for potential order effects under different experimental conditions.

Research Findings

• Specific Results:

  1. Task Performance:
     • The presence of multiple robots led to longer task completion times, particularly for easier tasks;
     • Organized multi-robot movement patterns (e.g., convergent/dispersed and circular movements) helped reduce completion times.
  2. Emotional Impact:
     • Anthropomorphic robots heightened the feeling of being monitored compared to non-anthropomorphic robots;
     • Multiple non-anthropomorphic robots increased the emotional sense of "being judged," though this did not significantly affect specific performance outcomes.
  3. Task Type Differences:
     • The impact of robot characteristics on emotions and performance was more pronounced in the word recall task than in the arithmetic task.

• Advantages:

  • Compared to studies on static or virtual robots, this research tested the potential emotional and task performance impacts of robot movement in a physical environment, addressing a gap in the literature.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  1. Limitations:
     • Small sample size (16 participants) with an unbalanced gender ratio (more males);
     • Differences in size and appearance between anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic robots may have introduced confounding factors;
     • The number of robots was limited to four due to experimental constraints.
  2. Future Directions:
     • Include a larger and more gender-balanced sample;
     • Consider more individual characteristics in multi-robot design (e.g., size, appearance);
     • Extend to more real-world scenarios (e.g., delivery robots, autonomous vehicle fleets).

Output Format

• This study conducted a comprehensive investigation into multi-robot systems, movement patterns, and anthropomorphic characteristics in human-robot interaction, yielding a series of practical conclusions and methods to support design optimization. Future research can expand sample sizes and scenarios to enhance the generalizability of scientific findings.