The Design and Observed Effects of Robot-performed Manual Gestures: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Communication using manual (hand) gestures is considered a defining property of social robots, and their physical embodiment and presence, therefore we see a need for a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in social robots that use gestures. This systematic literature review aims to address this need by (1) describing the gesture production process of a social robot, including the design and planning steps, and (2) providing a survey of the effects of robot-performed gestures on human-robot interactions in a multitude of domains. We identify patterns and themes from the existing body of literature, resulting in nine outstanding questions for research on robot-performed gestures regarding: developments in sensor technology and AI, structuring the gesture design and evaluation process, the relationship between physical appearance and gestures, the effects of planning on the overall interaction, standardizing measurements of gesture ‘quality’, individual differences, gesture mirroring, whether human-likeness is desirable, and universal accessibility of robots. We also reflect on current methodological practices in studies of robot-performed gestures, and suggest improvements regarding replicability, external validity, measurement instruments used, and connections with other disciplines. These outstanding questions and methodological suggestions can guide future work in this field of research.

Research Hotspots and Trends of Social Robot Interaction Design: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…(2) Effective Measurement of Research Indicators: Current research presents difficulties and challenges in obtaining reliable data to evaluate human-social robot interactions. For example, the commonly used questionnaires are not well suited to young children, and the measurement of some variables is easily affected by the state of the subject and the external environment, such as trust and user emotional state [19,30]. Therefore, there are still some challenges in how to effectively and objectively measure the true level of such latent variables and improve the reliability, validity, and replicability of the data.…”

“…This cluster comprises 60 cluster members, primarily including keywords such as affective computing, affective robotics, emotion, emotion recognition, facial expression, face, body language, EEG, brain, eye contact, gaze, gesture recognition, and more. Emotional design for social robots refers to imbuing robots with emotions, enabling them to recognize better, understand, and respond to users' emotions through emotional expressions [2,19,48]. A social robot with effective emotional design can enhance the interactive experience of human-robot interaction, improve user satisfaction, and facilitate a more natural and enjoyable communication process [2,58].…”

“…Verbal cues encompass the tone, intonation, and conversational style of social robots' speech, while nonverbal cues encompass facial expressions, gestures, body movements, and gaze, among others [2,50]. For example, robots can use gestures, natural language, and even "eye contact" to engage in positive emotional interactions with users [19,49,60]. As shown in Figure 3B, the average occurrence time of keywords in this cluster is relatively early, which belongs to the research basis of human-computer interaction design of social robots.…”

“…Fewer studies have conducted a systematic literature review on social robot interaction design (SRID). For example, gesture design for social robots and its impact on human-robot interaction [19], robotic vision for human-robot interaction and collaboration [20], the design and evolution of social robots [21], the effect of social robot design features on the quality of human-robot interactions [22], cultural influences on user interaction with social robots [23], human-robot emotional interaction based on the perspective of robot psychology [24], empathy in human-robot interaction [25], facial anthropomorphic trustworthiness for social robot design [26], and children's acceptance of social robots [27]. Furthermore, some studies focus on conducting reviews of specific types of social robots.…”

“…In the past decade, research in social robot interaction design (SRID) has experienced rapid growth, leading to a substantial body of literature on the subject [16,19,32]. Such a significant growth in the literature requires new approaches to review and analyze trends within knowledge domains [33,34].…”