Autonomous vs. tele-operated: How people perceive human-robot collaboration with HRP-2

Effective collaboration between robots and humans is not only a question of interface design and usability, but also of user experience and social acceptance. To investigate these aspects for Human-Robot Collaboration with the HRP-2 robot, two video-based focus groups enhanced with “creative stimuli” were conducted. The following research question was addressed: “Is the HRP-2 robot perceived differently in an autonomous collaboration condition compared to a tele-operated collaboration condition, in terms of social acceptance and user experience?” The results show that participants in general are open to a humanoid robot as working partner as long as there is a clear distinction between a human and a robot, in terms of tasks and working procedures. Furthermore, participants stated a positive attitude toward the remotely-controlled HRP-2 robot.