Sound as Implicit Influence on Human-Robot Interactions
Dylan James Moore, Wendy G. Ju · 2018
Autonomous robots in the home and on the road are fundamentally changing the way we live and interact. The visual expressions and interactions of these devices are well studied; however, more could be done to learn how sound could be a deliberate (or sometimes accidental) channel of communication from autonomous systems to humans. Combining engineering design, music, acoustics, and psychology, my thesis aims first to identify how sound colors human-robot interactions, and second to design acoustic guidelines that can improve trust of autonomous systems. As case studies, I plan to evaluate real-life interactions at two scales: sidewalk robot-pedestrian interactions and autonomous vehicle-pedestrian interactions---seeing autonomous cars as large robots that we sit inside of. This work will produce a generalizable methodology that refines interfaces between humans and technology.