Exploring Possibilities of Social Robot’s Interactive Services in the Case of a Hotel Room

Abstract

To explore the interaction design of an autonomous social robot stationed in a hotel room, we conducted a Wizard of Oz study. We developed a teleoperated robotic system that appears to move autonomously through voice-to-synthesis processing. Comparing the evaluation of the latest autonomous case with one of these teleoperated cases, the results show that it is possible to construct a robotic system that is more highly rated in terms of warmth, competence, and enjoyment of conversation. The results also suggest novel forms of the hotel room robot’s interactive services, such as a hotel-life management service and conversation partner service as a role of a listening presence, which draws out and understands with the guests’ talk.