Cynthia Breazeal, Cory D. Kidd

Abstract

This paper explores robots as a newly emerging interactive media. We highlight the distinct and intriguing design challenges and interaction affordances that the physical embodiment of robots brings to the myriad of growing applications for robots in environments where there is a high level of interaction with humans, such as the home or the classroom. This motivates the need to study and evaluate human-robot interaction, much as the HCI community has done for interactions between humans and traditional computers. Towards this goal, we offer our experiences in designing robots that interact with and learn from people.