Estimating Optimal Placement for a Robot in Social Group Interaction

In this paper, we present a model to propose an optimal placement for a robot in a social group interaction. Our model estimates the O-space according to the F-formation theory. The method automatically calculates a suitable placement for the robot. An evaluation of the method has been performed by conducting an experiment where participants stand in different formations and a robot is teleoperated to join the group. In one condition, the operator positions the robot according to the specified location given by our algorithm. In another condition, operators have the freedom to position the robot according to their personal choice. Follow-up questionnaires were performed to determine which of the placements were preferred by the participants. The results indicate that the proposed method for automatic placement of the robot is supported from the participants. The contribution of this work resides in a novel method to automatically estimate the best placement of the robot, as well as the results from user experiments to verify the quality of this method. These results suggest that teleoperated robots such as mobile robot telepresence systems could benefit from tools that assist operators in placing the robot in groups in a socially accepted manner.