From Designer Experience to Robot Perception: Evaluating Animation-Based Motion Design

Background : Animation-based approaches for robot motion design have been explored through various tool-focused solutions, including 3D animation software integration and keyframe-based authoring systems. While these approaches have demonstrated improved workflow efficiency when compared to traditional hard-coding methods, research has predominantly focused on tool implementation rather than examining the perception-focused dimensions. Specifically, the relationship between specific usability characteristics of animation-based systems and their effects on both designer experience and viewer perception of the resulting robot motions remains largely unexplored. This gap limits our understanding of how and why animation-based approaches influence the quality and acceptance of robot motion design. Methods : To address this gap, we developed Blender2Motor, an exemplary animation-based system that converts Blender animations into servo motor controls, and conducted a two-part evaluation examining both designer and viewer perspectives. 18 user participants designed robot motions through the system while 24 viewer participants evaluated the completed motions. We assessed users’ experiences through the technology acceptance model (TAM) and usability characteristics surveys, measured viewers’ robot perceptions using the Godspeed Questionnaire Series (GQS), and analyzed correlations between designer-side usability factors and both user acceptance and viewer perception outcomes. Results : Correlation analysis revealed that ‘rapid testing ease’ demonstrated the strongest association with technology acceptance (ρ=0.803, p