Changes in Embarrassment Through Repeated Interactions with Robots in Public Spaces

In recent years, communication robots have been employed to assist workers. However, it is known that users experience embarrassment when interacting with a robot in a public space, which may hinder their use. Previous studies investigated methods to reduce embarrassment when using robots and the factors that cause embarrassment. Although these studies have investigated the embarrassment experienced by users through only a single interaction, they have not investigated the embarrassment influenced by users’ past experiences. Therefore, in this study, we investigated changes in embarrassment and the factors causing embarrassment through repeated interactions with robots in public spaces. We conducted experiments in which the same participants used a robot in a public space multiple times and continuously experienced embarrassment through repeated interactions with the robot. The results show that repeated interactions with the robot reduce embarrassment, and that embarrassment is influenced by two factors: understanding of the user’s behavior from surrounding people and the user’s previous experience with the interaction.