Experiences with Sparky, a Social Robot

Abstract

In an effort to develop new ideas in human-computer interface and interactive robotics, we have a built a lifelike teleoperated robot. Our robot uses gesture, motion and sound to be social with humans in the immediate vicinity. We explored human/robot interaction in both private and public settings. Our users enjoyed interacting with Sparky and treated it as a living thing. Children showed more engagement than adults, though both groups touched, mimicked and spoke to the robot and often wondered openly about its intentions and capabilities. Evidence from our experiences with a teleoperated robot showed a need for next-generation autonomous social robots to develop more sophisticated sensory modalities that are better able to pay attention to people. We close by suggesting how our experience with Sparky might influence the design of future physical interfaces to computing. Keywords Personal robotics, emotion, affect, animation, gesture, physical interface, perceived int...