User Perception of “Socially Aware” vs “Unaware” Pepper Movements

This experiment investigates how different robot navigation strategies are perceived by human observers in a shared indoor environment. Using the humanoid robot Pepper, we compare two navigation styles: Socially Aware (SA) navigation, which incorporates human-centered constraints such as passing on the right, reducing speed in areas of higher human presence, approaching users from the front, and stopping at a socially comfortable distance. Baseline Shortest-Path (BL) navigation, which follows a standard shortest-path planning strategy without explicit social considerations. Participants are seated at a table while the robot navigates the environment around them. The study examines whether naïve observers notice qualitative differences between the two navigation styles and which style they prefer. The goal is to assess how socially informed navigation cues influence perceived appropriateness, comfort, and overall acceptance of robot motion in shared spaces.