Effects of multiple robots' body torque on dialogue structure and interpersonal cognition

Abstract

In human-robot dialogue, both people and robots need to coordinate the dialogue structure proactively. Although previous studies have suggested that non-verbal information is important in communication between people and between people and robots, there is not enough discussion on interpersonal cognition. For the dialogue robots to coordinate dialogue fields with consideration like humans, interpersonal cognition based on non-verbal information needs to be discussed more quantitatively. In this study, we focus on ``body torque'', expressed by the face and body directions in multi-person dialogue situations. In this paper, the effects of the body torque of multiple robots on human behavior are analyzed based on experiments conducted at JST Miraikan. The results show that the orientation of the bodies of both robots is a cue for people to engage bystanders in conversation.