Effects of Robot Gaze and Proxemic Behavior on Perceived Social Presence during a Hallway Navigation Scenario

Robots are increasingly being introduced into task environments that require the ability to exhibit appropriate social functionality. The present study is an examination of how social cues conveyed by a robot, during a brief interaction, affect the perception of the robot as a socially present agent. Participants were exposed to one of three gaze conditions and two proxemic behavioral programs during a number of experimental trials involving path-crossing in a hallway setting. Results indicated that participants perceived the robot as more socially present when it exhibited a passive proxemic behavior and more socially present over time; though, findings varied at the sub-scale level. Design recommendations are presented for roboticists.