End-user programming of a social robot by dialog

Abstract

One of the main challenges faced by social robots is how to provide intuitive, natural and enjoyable usability for the end-user. In our ordinary environment, social robots could be important tools for education and entertainment (edutainment) in a variety of ways. This paper presents a Natural Programming System (NPS) that is geared to non-expert users. The main goal of such a system is to provide an enjoyable interactive platform for the users to build different programs within their social robot platform. The end-user can build a complex net of actions and conditions (a sequence) in a social robot via mixed-initiative dialogs and multimodal interaction. The system has been implemented and tested in Maggie, a real social robot with multiple skills, conceived as a general HRI researching platform. The robot's internal features (skills) have been implemented to be verbally accessible to the end-user, who can combine them into others more complex following a bottom-up model. The built sequence is internally implemented as a Sequence Function Chart (SFC), which allows parallel execution, modularity and re-use. A multimodal Dialog Manager System (DMS) takes charge of keeping the coherence of the interaction. This work is thought for bringing social robots closer to non-expert users, who can play the game of "teaching how to do things" with the robot.

Unconventional Students in Robotics and HRI Education: A Review of Two Initiatives

“…For some, especially younger students, a robot's appearance and/or behavior can determine attraction or repulsion. If a robot appears menacing, many people (and most children) may not want to approach it (Gorostiza & Salichs, 2011). The well-known 'uncanny valley' hypothesis suggests that the more human-like a robot is in appearance and behavior, the more it is perceived as approachable (i.e., positive responsivity of viewers) up to a point (Mori, 1970).…”

“…In contrast, when a robot looks friendly, approachability may be enhanced (Gorostiza & Salichs, 2011). This is especially true for younger viewers or those in special clinical populations.…”

“…The technical aspects of how to program a robot and make it interactive can also be a daunting barrier to those students with robotics interest and no technical experience (Gorostiza & Salichs, 2011). However, recent developments have reduced the entry-level technical background needed by those who aspire to develop interactive sequences for robots (Gorostiza & Salichs, 2011;Magnenat, Riedo, Bonani, & Mondada, 2012;Riedo et al, 2013).…”

“…However, recent developments have reduced the entry-level technical background needed by those who aspire to develop interactive sequences for robots (Gorostiza & Salichs, 2011;Magnenat, Riedo, Bonani, & Mondada, 2012;Riedo et al, 2013).…”

“…Maggie uses a Natural Programming System (NPS) that allows end-users to create interactive sequences through voice commands rather than complicated programming methods (Gorostiza & Salichs, 2011). Thymio II uses open-source software, called Aseba, which is designed specifically for novice programmers utilizing a Visual Programming Language (VPL).…”