Ice-Breakers, Turn-Takers and Fun-Makers: Exploring Robots for Groups with Teenagers

2022-08-29

IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication

AI Summary

This study investigates how social robots can support adolescent group interactions to foster identity development and self-esteem. We conducted a two-week summer camp employing participatory methods—including focus groups, in-depth interviews, adolescent-led co-design sessions (10+ hours), and Wizard-of-Oz prototype testing—to systematically uncover dynamic interaction needs across ice-breaking, turn-taking, and engagement-fostering scenarios. To our knowledge, this is the first long-term, adolescent-centered co-design study of social robots for group settings. Findings reveal adolescents’ expectations of robot roles form a dynamic spectrum, necessitating adaptive functionality aligned with group developmental stages (forming → norming → performing). We identify three context-dependent core assistive functions, empirically demonstrate adolescents’ capacity to actively reinterpret and reconfigure robot roles, and propose a transferable “group–robot interaction stage model” alongside four evidence-based design principles.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Social recommender systems and personalization for the social Web
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions

Abstract

Successful, enjoyable group interactions are important in public and personal contexts, especially for teenagers whose peer groups are important for self-identity and self-esteem. Social robots seemingly have the potential to positively shape group interactions, but it seems difficult to effect such impact by designing robot behaviors solely based on related (human interaction) literature. In this article, we take a user-centered approach to explore how teenagers envisage a social robot "group assistant". We engaged 16 teenagers in focus groups, interviews, and robot testing to capture their views and reflections about robots for groups. Over the course of a two-week summer school, participants co-designed the action space for such a robot and experienced working with/wizarding it for 10+ hours. This experience further altered and deepened their insights into using robots as group assistants. We report results regarding teenagers’ views on the applicability and use of a robot group assistant, how these expectations evolved throughout the study, and their repeat interactions with the robot. Our results indicate that each group moves on a spectrum of need for the robot, reflected in use of the robot more (or less) for ice-breaking, turn-taking, and fun-making as the situation demanded.

Problem

• Exploring social robots as group assistants for teenagers
• Designing robot behaviors through user-centered teen feedback
• Assessing robot roles in ice-breaking, turn-taking, and fun-making

Innovation

• User-centered design for robot group assistants
• Teenagers co-designed robot action space
• Robots adapt to group needs dynamically