Unlocking the Potential of Virtual Reality in Human Robot Interaction: Insights for User Studies

Eleonora Zodo, Katja Gallhuber, Setareh Zafari, Jaison Puthenkalam, Andreas Sackl, Manfred Tscheligi

Keywords: HRI, subjective experiment, HMLV

TL;DR: We present first general recommendations for researchers who plan to conduct a VR-HRI user studies.

Abstract: This paper describes the design and implementation of a Virtual Reality (VR) HRI user study, which was used to derive insights and recommendations for researchers who plan to conduct similar VR user studies. Although VR user studies can be an efficient way to evaluate HRI variations before real world implementations are executed, several aspects need to be considered. According to our recommendations, the intention of the robot needs to be made clear for the VR study participants, a controlled test environment is crucial, ergonomic aspects need to be considered and a realistic representation of the work context should be provided. Our recommendatons are based on the feedback of skilled workers in the field of ceramic polishing and users with technical background and varying experience with robots.

Submission Number: 8