HRI: Four Lessons from Acting Method
Source: web.media.mit.edu
Topic: Acting Technique
Sort Desciption: On the one hand, much of acting technique draws on the personal experiences of the actor, experi- encethatnorobot can bring to the table. On the other hand, a significant portion of an actor ...
Content Inside:
HRI: Four Lessons from Acting Method
GUY HOFFMAN
MITMediaLab
Abstract
This informal paper discusses four principles found throughout
much of the acting method literature that may be of value to Human-
Robot Interaction (HRI) design: (1) psycho-physical unity, (2) mutual
responsiveness, (3) objective and inner monologue, and (4) the taking
into account of circumstances. This work is founded on the notion
that both acting and HRI design are concerned with physically mim-
ickingnatural behavior in a collaborative setting.
HRIDESIGN AS ACTING
Research in interactive robots—those designed to work in close collaboration
with humans—is concerned, among others, with the creation of
natural behavior for the robotic character. This is particularly true for entertainment
robots that do not serve a functional purpose beyond the interaction
or performance they are expected to display. This paper argues that
there are interesting parallels between the challenges actors take on and the
ones that designers of HRI1 robots need to tackle, and therefore lessons to
be learned from acting methods for HRI development.
This work should be considered as food for thought, rather than athor-
oughreviewof acting literature ora fleshed outroadmapfor HRI design.
Its statements are best read as inspiration rather than as recommendation.
That said, why even look towards acting when thinking about robot
design?
Relatingthetwofieldsstemsfromtheobservationthatactorsaretrained
to be highly tuned to the technical physicality of behavior for various ac-
tionsand attitudes. An actorspreparationofa role includes asystematic
investigation of what gesture, body pose or physical action best describes
the internal drive and objective of their charact ...
