Researchers are programming
robots to communicate with people using human-like body language and cues, an
important step toward bringing robots into homes. Researchers at the University
of British Columbia enlisted the help of a human-friendly robot named Charlie
to study the simple task of handing an object to a person. Past research has
shown that people have difficulty figuring out when to reach out and take an
object from a robot because robots fail to provide appropriate nonverbal cues.
Researchers tested three
variations of this interaction with Charlie and the 102 study participants. Programming
the robot to use eye gaze as a non-verbal cue made the handover more fluid.
Researchers found that people reached out to take the water bottle sooner in
scenarios where the robot moved its head to look at the area where it would
hand over the water bottle or looked to the handover location and then up at
the person to make eye contact.
More information: