Human Perceptions of a Curious Robot that Performs Off-Task Actions

Nick Walker, Kevin Weatherwax, Julian Allchin, Leila Takayama, Maya Cakmak

Abstract: Researchers have proposed models of curiosity as a means to drive robots to learn and adapt to their environments. While these models balance goal- and exploration-oriented actions in a mathematically principled manor, it is not understood how users perceive a robot that pursues off-task actions. Motivated by a model of curiosity based on intrinsic rewards, we conducted three online video-surveys with a total of 264 participants, evaluating a variety of curious behaviors. Our results indicate that a robot's off-task actions are perceived as expressions of curiosity, but that these actions lead to a negative impact on perceptions of the robot's competence. When the robot explains or acknowledges its deviation from the primary task, this can partially mitigate the negative effects of off-task actions.