Integrating Constrained Experiments in Long-Term Human–Robot Interaction Using Task- and Scenario-Based Prototyping

Abstract

In order to investigate how the use of robots may impact everyday tasks, twelve participants in our study interacted with a University of Hertfordshire Sunflower robot over a period of 8 weeks in the university's Robot House. Participants performed two constrained tasks, one physical and one cognitive, four times over this period. Participant responses were recorded using a variety of measures including the System Usability Scale and the NASA Task Load Index. The use of the robot had an impact on the experienced workload of the participants differently for the two tasks, and this effect changed over time. In the physical task, there was evidence of adaptation to the robot's behavior. For the cognitive task, the use of the robot was experienced as more frustrating in the later weeks.