OfficeMate: Pilot Evaluation of an Office Assistant Robot

TL;DR

This work investigates the integration of office assistant robots by presenting OfficeMate, a social OAR built on the TIAGo robot with ROS. It combines GPT-4-based natural language interaction, YOLOv8-based person-following, a gesture library, autonomous navigation, and office-task capabilities to explore in-situ benefits and constraints. In a pilot with seven office workers, the study reveals potential benefits for stress reduction, social companionship, and well-being prompts, while highlighting concerns around privacy, timing, safety, and office norms. The findings inform a roadmap for adaptive, socially aware OARs and emphasize user-centered, iterative development for real-world deployment in office environments.

Abstract

Office Assistant Robots (OARs) offer a promising solution to proactively provide in-situ support to enhance employee well-being and productivity in office spaces. We introduce OfficeMate, a social OAR designed to assist with practical tasks, foster social interaction, and promote health and well-being. Through a pilot evaluation with seven participants in an office environment, we found that users see potential in OARs for reducing stress and promoting healthy habits and value the robot's ability to provide companionship and physical activity reminders in the office space. However, concerns regarding privacy, communication, and the robot's interaction timing were also raised. The feedback highlights the need to carefully consider the robot's appearance and behaviour to ensure it enhances user experience and aligns with office social norms. We believe these insights will better inform the development of adaptive, intelligent OAR systems for future office space integration.

Figures (1)

• Figure 1: Examples of interactions with OfficeMate's functionalities.