Investigating the Impact of Human-Robot Collaboration on Creativity and Team Efficiency: A Case Study on Brainstorming in Presence of Robots

The main objective of this research is to explore the impact of deploying social robots in team-based intellectual cooperation, specifically during brainstorming sessions. A total of 72 participants (36 females and 36 males) were involved, with groups of four participants (2 females and 2 males) engaging in brainstorming sessions. In nine sessions, three Nao robots were present; while in the other nine sessions, three human fellows participated instead of robots. The creativity of participants was assessed by measuring the average number of unique ideas generated using Bouchard and Hare’s coding rules. The sessions with robots showed a significant increase in participant creativity. After the sessions, the participants completed a questionnaire, which revealed higher satisfaction, reduced production blocking, decreased free-riding, and increased synergy in sessions where robots were present. These findings were further supported by the video analysis. Future research can explore the long-term effects of interacting with social robots, including those equipped with artificial intelligence.