Exploring the Interaction Kinesics of a Soft Social Robot

In this pilot study, we explore the kinesics of a non-humanoid pneumatically actuated soft robot developed for social human-robot interaction (HRI). The robot uses motion and gesture to communicate: it can tilt; expand; and perform movements reminiscent of breathing. To explore the robot's kinesics, we hand-coded 8 movement presets intended to represent a specific action, internal state/emotion, or pattern of motion: greeting; avoid; breathless; joyful; alarming; jellyfish; frighten; sigh. We then conducted an online survey where participants (N=59) chose words to describe their perception of each preset behavior. Semantic analysis of word choices indicates that the intended meaning was conveyed to users for most of the presets. Analysis of the general comments with text mining techniques showed that the robot was perceived as resembling an animal-like sea creature or a human body part (lungs, belly, or heart) and as communicating distinct emotional states. The results indicate that it is possible to communicate with a user solely through soft robotic movement, and suggest that soft robotics has applications within the design of affective interfaces and social robotics.