Hand Over or Place On The Table? A Study On Robotic Object Delivery When The Recipient Is Occupied

TL;DR

This paper investigates how user attentiveness affects robotic object delivery methods, addressing the gap that multitasking users may pose a disruption to HRI handovers. A controlled user study (n=15) compares direct handover versus table placement using Hello Robot Stretch 2 and ROS2 waypoint navigation while participants perform a typing task, measuring satisfaction, safety, intuitiveness, confidence, mental demand, and typing performance. Results show table placement yields significantly higher satisfaction, safety, intuitiveness, and confidence (p<0.001 for all), while typing performance declines by about 12-19% with handover and mental demand remains similar across methods; all participants prefer table placement. The findings support adaptive, context-aware delivery strategies in service robots, recommending table-based delivery during user multitasking and handover only when users are available, with explicit communication of the chosen method to users.

Abstract

This study investigates the subjective experiences of users in two robotic object delivery methods: direct handover and table placement, when users are occupied with another task. A user study involving 15 participants engaged in a typing game revealed that table placement significantly enhances user experience compared to direct handovers, particularly in terms of satisfaction, perceived safety and intuitiveness. Additionally, handovers negatively impacted typing performance, while all participants expressed a clear preference for table placement as the delivery method. These findings highlight the advantages of table placement in scenarios requiring minimal user disruption.