Iterative Robot Waiter Algorithm Design: Service Expectations and Social Factors

Mobile robots carrying food in restaurants are here. What service behavior norms do people expect them to follow? This paper evaluates robot waiter algorithms and service parameters for scenarios with two participants at a simulated cocktail event. Varying body-storming inspired context variables such as: “hunger level" and “relationship to each other," robot delivery algorithms (lead, follow, ambient), and participant pose (standing, seated). Due to increasing deployment of robotic systems, companies may need to rapidly iterate on situated, human-cognizant robotic behaviors that take functional and social considerations into account. We utilized a within-subjects design and improvisational methods, in which pairs of people were given a series of context prompts, and told to participate as felt natural. Output variables included whether they took food and post-trial survey ratings of the robot. The results show a positive correlation between food taking (or feelings of obligation to take food) and human or robot initiative, and negative correlation in the mixed-ambient algorithm with no explicit leader. The robot waiter that comes to the table is the clearest and most noticeable. Bringing food one person ordered to the other person was unforgivable. When in doubt, head to the center-point.