The snackbot

Abstract

We present the design of the Snackbot, a robot that will deliver snacks in our university buildings. The robot is intended to provide a useful, continuing service and to serve as a research platform for long-term Human-Robot Interaction. Our design process, which occurred over 24 months, is documented as a contribution for others in HRI who may be developing social robots that offer services. We describe the phases of the design project, and the design decisions and tradeoffs that led to the current version of the robot. Social robot, design process, interaction design, holistic designTo address these challenges, we designed and developed the Snackbot, a robust robot that will roam semi-autonomously in campus buildings, offering snacks to office residents and passersby (Figure 1). We designed the Snackbot not just as a service, but also as a research platform to investigate questions related to long-term interaction with social robots.

Designing Social Robots for Interaction at Work: Socio-Cognitive Factors Underlying Intention to Work with Social Robots

“…Although its arms are not fully functional, they carry a tray that allows Snackbot to transport objects from one place to another. (Lee et al [11]). …”

“…Blow et al [10] compared various robot smiles, reporting that expressions with a natural transition time where preferred by the participants. Lee et al [11] and Walters et al [12], studied perception of robot's height, concluding respectively that: participants preferred a robot with a height similar to theirs, as this allowed eye contact; and that higher robots where perceived as more human-like and conscientious. Moreover, Walters et al [12] also studied the effect of robot general design (machine-like vs humanoid), concluding that robots with a more human-like design where perceived as more intelligent.…”

Wizard of Oz Studies in HRI: A Systematic Review and New Reporting Guidelines

“…In only 24.1% (n = 13) of included papers did authors clearly articulate that their use of WoZ was part of an iterative design process. For example, Lee et al (2009) describe several prototype iterations as they developed Snackbot, using WoZ in early parts of their process. Of the remaining 75.9% (n = 41) of included papers authors did not provide sufficient detail to make this assessment.…”

Evaluating Human-Robot Interaction

“…One example that highlights the importance of visceral interaction is the problem of eeriness, where as postulated by the Uncanny Valley theory [54], discomfort in interaction rapidly increases as a robot's lifelikeness to a human rises above a certain level [39]. Another example is people's reluctance to interact with an anthropomorphic robot that appeared taller than them [50]. A rehabilitation robot, Paro, was specifically chosen to take the form of a baby seal to elicit positive emotional responses from people [52]-people reported a great deal of emotional attachment toward the robot.…”