Enabling Synchronous Joint Action in Human-Robot Teams

Abstract

Joint action is an increasing area of interest for HRI researchers. To be effective team members, robots need to be able to understand, anticipate, and react appropriately to high-level human social behavior. We have designed a new approach to enable an autonomous robot to act fluently within a synchronous human-robot team. We present an initial description and validation study of this approach. Using a synchronous dance scenario as an experimental testbed, we found that our robot was able to execute appropriate actions using our method. Moving forward, we aim to extend this method by developing predictions for the robot's actions using an understanding of the group's dynamics. Our method will be helpful to other researchers working to achieve fluency of action within human-robot groups.

Robotics Technology in Mental Health Care

“…For example, our own recent work uses non-linear analysis techniques and motion modeling to explore how teams synchronize with one another during psychomotor entrainment tasks (Iqbal & Riek, 2014Iqbal, Gonzales, and Riek, 2015;Rack, Iqbal, and Riek, 2015). As synchronizing with others is a key indicator of brain health and social development, the methods we are developing may be useful for therapists and researchers working with individuals with autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injury.…”

Movement Coordination in Human–Robot Teams: A Dynamical Systems Approach

“…The dance is iterative, and performed cyclically in a counterclockwise manner (see Figure 1-A.) There are four iterations in a dance session, corresponding to each of the cardinal directions (North, West, South, and East). Each iteration includes the dancers taking the following steps in order: move forward and backward twice, then, clap, and turn 90-degrees (see Figure 2) [3]. Fig.…”

“…We conducted two sets of pilot studies, with a total of seven participants (three women, four men). Participants were opportunistically recruited, and compensated with a $5 gift card for participating [3].…”

“…To acquire these measurements, we recorded events generated from server logs as well as from odometry data from the robot. We compared the two, noting differences in velocity, distance, and event timings [3].…”

“…While working alongside humans, a robot might encounter people performing various social actions, such as engaging in social activities, or performing synchronous movements [3]. For example, Ros et al [4] used a humanoid robot to play the role of a dance instructor with children, and Fasola et al [5] designed a socially assistive robot to engage older adults in physical exercise.…”