Million Eyes on the "Robot Umps": The Case for Studying Sports in HRI Through Baseball

Waki Kamino, Andrea W. Wen-Yi, Dhruv Agarwal, Sil Hamilton, Eun Jeong Kang, Jieun Kim, Keigo Kusumegi, Pegah Moradi, Daniel Mwesigwa, Yan Tao, I-Ting Tsai, Ethan Yang, Shengqi Zhu, Shu-Jung Han, Chi-Jung Lee, Michael Joseph Sack, Tianhong Catherine Yu, Weslie Khoo, Andy Elliot Ricci, Yoyo Tsung-Yu Hou et al. (5 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: In this position paper, we argue that baseball-and sports more broadly-provide a unique and under-explored opportunity for researchers to study human-robot interaction (HRI) in real-world settings. Using the rise of robot umpires in baseball as a primary example, we examine emerging themes such as power dynamics among players and umpires, labor implications, and technical challenges. We emphasize the affordances and benefits of studying sports within HRI, including the integration of interdisciplinary perspectives, the large-scale deployment of robots, and the examination of their role in deeply rooted cultural practices.