Long-term interactions with social robots: trends, insights, and recommendations
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OA Location
Author(s)
Matheus, Kayla
Ramnauth, Rebecca
Scassellati, Brian
Salomons, Nicole
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
In the past two decades, the field of social robotics has undergone significant growth, witnessing a surge in long-term human–robot interaction (HRI) studies. This review paper provides an in-depth analysis of 120 long-term HRI studies conducted between 2003 and 2023, spanning 7 major domains including education, entertainment, and physical and mental health. We define “long-term” as studies deploying social robots with the same users for more than three sessions across 3 consecutive days, aiming to employ a comprehensive approach and identify trends in this dynamic field. Our analysis explores various aspects of these studies, from participant demographics to the characteristics of the HRI and engagement measures. The findings reveal promising trends, such as diverse age group representation, a strong focus on real-world contexts, and autonomous robot operation. We also identify gaps, notably the limited representation of studies involving teenagers and those studying workplace settings. By presenting this overview, we aim to empower the HRI community to address challenges, refine methodologies, and foster innovation in the domain of long-term HRI.
Date Issued
2025-06-09
Date Acceptance
2024-12-08
Citation
ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction, 2025, 14 (3), pp.1-42
ISSN
2573-9522
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Start Page
1
End Page
42
Journal / Book Title
ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction
Volume
14
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
License URL
Identifier
10.1145/3729539
Subjects
social robots
human-robot interaction
long-term robotics
multi-session robotics This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-04-15