Impression of Robot that Flexibly Refrains from Actions in Human–Robot Cooperative Scenario

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the impression that the robot’s refraining in the virtual space gives to the human operators of the agents in the virtual space. Research on social communication robots is underway toward the realization of a human–robot symbiosis society. In such a society, robots should behave cooperatively when interacting with surrounding humans. In order to realize human–robot cooperation, we have been developing robots that can adapt to implicitly formed group norms even without direct interactions. In this study, we focus on a new aspect of implicit cooperation between humans and robots: “refraining,” which means withholding action in relation to others. We investigate the impression of a robot that expresses refraining behavior according to the behavior of humans who are engaged in a cooperative task with the robot in a virtual space. The results suggest that the robot’s refraining behavior promotes the human’s active behavior and suggests the construction of a relationship in which the robot and the human support each other.