User feedback in human-robot interaction: prosody, gaze and timing

Abstract

This paper investigates forms and functions of user feedback in a map task dialogue between a human and a robot, where the robot is the instruction-giver and the human is the instruction-follower. First, we investigate how user acknowledgements in task-oriented dialogue signal whether an activity is about to be initiated or has been completed. The parameters analysed include the users ’ lexical and prosodic realisation as well as gaze direction and response timing. Second, we investigate the relation between these parameters and the perception of uncertainty.