Group Vs. Individual Comfort When a Robot Approaches

Abstract

This paper quantifies how the comfort of a person approached by a robot changes when that person is alone or in a group of two. A total of 140 participants in lone and paired configurations were approached by a robot from eight different directions and asked to rate their level of comfort. Results show that while the comfort of an individual was influenced by the presence and relative position of a second person, there were some common features in the comfort responses of all participants regardless of their group configuration.