Programming Robots at the Museum

Abstract

We describe our experience exhibiting a human-size robot in a museum, encouraging visitors to interact with the robot and even program it to perform a sequence of timed poses. Three different user interfaces for robot programming were designed and piloted. At the museum, users’ programs were run on the real robot for all to see. The installation attracted and engaged visitors between the ages of two to adult. The most intuitive of our interfaces was equally captivating for young and older visitors. We discuss the pros and cons of our interfaces, and statistically analyze over 850 pose sequences that were programmed by the visitors. The analyses reveal engagement times, the depth to which visitors investigated installation features, and the nature of motions visitors programmed for the robot. Based on these results and our observations we provide lessons for other exhibitors who aim to achieve active prolonged engagement for museum settings. We also point to implications for designing interfaces for enduser programming of robots.