Spontaneous,short-term interaction with mobile robots

Human-robot interaction has been identi ed as one of the major open research directions in mobile robotics. This paper considers a speci c type of interaction: short-term and spontaneous interaction with crowds of people. Such patterns of interactions are found frequently when service robots operate in public places (e.g. information kiosks, receptionists, tourguide robots). This paper describes three components of a successfully implemented interactive robot: a motorized face asfocal point for interaction, an architecture that suggests the robot has moods, and a method for learning how to interact with people. The approach has been implemented and tested using a mobile robot, which was recently deployed at a Smithsonian museum in Washington, DC. During a two week installation period it interacted with 50,000 people and we found that the robot's interactive capabilities were essential for its high on-task performance, and thus its practical success.