Interpreting Arrows in Mobile Robot-Human Encounters: The Influence of Spatial Context and Presentation Timing

Several studies have proposed that mobile robots can indicate their movement direction by displaying arrows to facilitate smooth passing of humans. However, the interpretation of these arrows can be ambiguous, as they are also commonly used as guiding signs. The way arrows are presented on the robot’s body may lead people to perceive them as indicating either the robot’s direction of movement or the direction passers-by should move. This study aims to develop arrows into clear and unambiguous non-verbal communication method for robot-human interactions. We investigate how the spatial context and timing of arrow presentation influence people’s perception of the arrow’s meaning. Building upon our previous experiment, we explore two key aspects: 1) differences in arrow perception based on the spatial context of symmetric and asymmetric corridors, and 2) the influence of presentation timing on perception when varying the mobile robot’s speed. We conducted a virtual passing experiment using first-person perspective videos of encounters with a mobile robot. The findings suggest that the corridor’s spatial characteristics play a significant role in how people perceive the arrow’s meaning. Furthermore, our results indicate that the meaning of the arrow may be determined by the interaction between the spatial context and the presentation timing. Our research highlights the importance of considering the spatial context and presentation timing when using arrows for non-verbal communication in human-robot interactions.