The Social Context of Human-Robot Interactions

2025-08-19

AI Summary

Ambiguity and inconsistent usage of the concept of “social context” in Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) research impede theoretical integration and cross-study dialogue. To address this, we conduct a systematic literature review and conceptual modeling to propose, for the first time, a unified framework for social context in HRI. The framework explicitly characterizes social context as multidimensional—including physical environment, interactional roles, cultural norms, and task structure—and formally specifies its functional roles in robot behavior design, real-time planning, and post-hoc evaluation. By reconciling terminological discrepancies, it enables context-aware behavioral modeling and reproducible, context-grounded evaluation practices. This work establishes a foundational conceptual tool for advancing HRI theory and practice, and identifies key future directions—including dynamic context modeling and cross-cultural contextual adaptation.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Humans and AI: Human-Aware Planning and Behavior Prediction

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Personalized, context-aware and across-device search
• 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

The Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) community often highlights the social context of an interaction as a key consideration when designing, implementing, and evaluating robot behavior. Unfortunately, researchers use the term "social context" in varied ways. This can lead to miscommunication, making it challenging to draw connections between related work on understanding and modeling the social contexts of human-robot interactions. To address this gap, we survey the HRI literature for existing definitions and uses of the term "social context". Then, we propose a conceptual model for describing the social context of a human-robot interaction. We apply this model to existing work, and we discuss a range of attributes of social contexts that can help researchers plan for interactions, develop behavior models for robots, and gain insights after interactions have taken place. We conclude with a discussion of open research questions in relation to understanding and modeling the social contexts of human-robot interactions.

Problem

• Addressing inconsistent definitions of social context in HRI
• Proposing a conceptual model for human-robot interaction contexts
• Identifying attributes to improve robot behavior planning and evaluation

Innovation

• Surveying HRI literature for social context definitions
• Proposing a conceptual model for interaction context
• Identifying attributes to guide robot behavior planning