Abstract:
In the design of service robots, a key research focus has been on Human Robot Interaction (HRI) required in service applications. HRI is one of the critical factors that determines the acceptability of a service robot. The user acceptance of a service robot and its applications is highly related to HRI, as HRI affects the user perception and user experience related to the robot. In this paper, a new design approach is proposed for designing and implementing HRI for service robot applications designed for real scenarios in the real-world environment. The objective of this design approach is to facilitate inter-disciplinary collaborations, which are essential for HRI research and for developing successful products. The proposed design approach was used in the design of the healthcare service robot “Cafero” developed at the University of Auckland in collaboration with the Electronic and Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI) and Yujin Robot Company Ltd. of Korea. Vital signs measurement, medication management, entertainment and falls detection were implemented as service applications of Cafero. In the design process, UML and UMLi modelling diagrams were used to model the robot’s multi-modal and interactive behaviour. Interaction design patterns were defined to represent recurring interactions or social cues in HRI using UMLi notations. The proposed design approach emphasises an iterative process to allow discovery of additional HRI requirements in the early design stage and to implement through Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE). The design of communication initiation and user identification by Cafero is presented as a case study, in order to evaluate the proposed design approach. In this case study, enabling a service robot to act proactively to the presence of a potential user and identifying the user prior to providing healthcare services is presented. For the implementation, Open-RTM component-oriented framework was used.
