Dancing with a Robot: An Experimental Study of Child-Robot Interaction in a Performative Art Setting

Ngo, Victor Zhi Heung; Patel, Roma; Ramchurn, Rachel; Chamberlain, Alan; Kucukyilmaz, Ayse

doi:10.1007/978-981-96-3525-2_29

Dancing with a Robot: An Experimental Study of Child-Robot Interaction in a Performative Art Setting

Ngo, Victor Zhi Heung; Patel, Roma; Ramchurn, Rachel; Chamberlain, Alan; Kucukyilmaz, Ayse

Authors

Victor Zhi Heung Ngo

Roma Patel

Rachel Ramchurn

Dr ALAN CHAMBERLAIN alan.chamberlain@nottingham.ac.uk
Principal Research Fellow

Dr AYSE KUCUKYILMAZ AYSE.KUCUKYILMAZ@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Associate Professor

Abstract

This paper presents an evaluation of 18 children's in-the-wild experiences with the autonomous robot arm performer NED (Never-Ending Dancer) within the Thingamabobas installation, showcased across the UK. We detail NED's design, including costume, behaviour, and human interactions, all integral to the installation. Our observational analysis revealed three key challenges in child-robot interactions: 1) Initiating and maintaining engagement, 2) Lack of robot expressivity and reciprocity, and 3) Unmet expectations. Our findings show that children are naturally curious, and adept at interacting with a robotic art performer. However, our observations emphasise the critical need to optimise human robot interaction (HRI) systems through careful consideration of audience's capabilities, perceptions, and expectations, within the performative arts context, to enable engaging and meaningful experiences, especially for young audiences.

Citation

Ngo, V. Z. H., Patel, R., Ramchurn, R., Chamberlain, A., & Kucukyilmaz, A. (2024, October). Dancing with a Robot: An Experimental Study of Child-Robot Interaction in a Performative Art Setting. Presented at International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR), Odense, Denmark

Presentation Conference Type	Edited Proceedings
Conference Name	International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR)
Start Date	Oct 23, 2024
End Date	Oct 26, 2024
Acceptance Date	Aug 21, 2024
Online Publication Date	Mar 25, 2025
Publication Date	Mar 25, 2025
Deposit Date	Nov 15, 2024
Publicly Available Date	Nov 15, 2024
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Pages	340-353
Series Title	Lecture Notes in Computer Science
Series Number	15563
Series ISSN	1611-3349
Book Title	Social Robotics. ICSR + AI 2024
ISBN	9789819635245
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-3525-2_29
Keywords	Child-Robot Interaction; User Engagement; Robotic Performance; Interactive Robotic Art
Public URL	https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/41924030
Publisher URL	https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-96-3525-2_29