Welcome to HRI 2024 Robot Challenge

Designing Social Robots in the Wild

HRI Competition 3: Office Assistant Robot

Welcome to the Office Assistant Robot Competition! Develop social robot applications designed to provide invaluable assistance and companionship to workers in the office environment. The competition serves as a platform for participants to demonstrate the capabilities of their social robots and to highlight the ways in which these intelligent machines can enhance the productivity and well-being of office professionals.

Participants are invited to present their social robot applications based on the Tiago Platform, each with its unique add-ons design, features, and functionalities. These robots should behave as humanly as possible, fostering a sense of familiarity and promoting natural interaction with humans. They should understand human emotions, displaying expressive facial features and gestures that enable effective communication and empathetic engagement.

Competition Environment

The competition arena will be set up to represent a simplified office as a replica of the training area that consists of two corridors in a U shape, a coffee machine, reception, workstations set in an open environment, and two meeting rooms.

Criteria

The competition evaluates the robots based on various criteria, including these four domains:

1. Practical Assistance (Open a Help Desk Ticket):

• The robots should showcase their ability to perform tasks relevant to office environments, such as managing schedules, organizing meetings, and providing reminders. Judges will assess the efficiency and accuracy of these functionalities, as well as the robots' adaptability to individual preferences and work styles.

2. Social Interaction (Greet new visitor and provide information):

• The robots should excel in creating a positive and supportive atmosphere. Their conversational abilities, emotional intelligence, and capability to engage in friendly and empathetic interactions will be evaluated. Judges will look for robots that can initiate conversations, actively listen, and provide appropriate responses in a natural and engaging manner.

3. Navigation and Environment Interaction (Follow me):

• The robots' ability to autonomously navigate through office spaces, avoid obstacles, and interact seamlessly with their surroundings will be assessed. Judges will consider their efficiency, safety, and adaptability to dynamic workplace environments.
4. Innovation and User Experience:

• The competition encourages participants to push the boundaries of social robotics by incorporating innovative features and technologies. Judges will evaluate the uniqueness of these ideas, as well as the overall user experience and ease of integration into existing office systems and workflows.

Expected Duration

The maximum time for a trial is 20 minutes total. The time starts when the referees signal to the competition team that the challenge is beginning and stops when the diner successfully has received their order or if any fail conditions occur.

Scoring

Points for completing each subtask (order taking, fetching the order, and delivery) will be a combination of interaction outcomes and a behavioral score for social appropriateness, with completion time used to break ties. Scores may be reduced by penalties for errors in each phase. Failure conditions may result in the phase or trial ending early without the possibility of accruing additional points. The interaction outcomes are based on technical achievements of how successfully each phase is accomplished. The behavioral score will be based on X.

Interaction Outcome Scoring:

Interaction Phase	Action	Scoring
Conversational Ability	How well does the robot engage in conversations with users?	1 point
	Does it understand and respond appropriately to user queries and requests?	1 point
	Is the conversation natural and fluid?	1 point
Task Completion:	How effectively does the robot perform tasks relevant to office environments?	1 point
	Can it schedule meetings, manage calendars, and provide reminders accurately?	1 point
Adaptability:	How well does the robot personalize its interactions?	1 point
	Does it learn and adapt to individual preferences and work styles?	1 point
	Does it provide tailored recommendations and suggestions?	1 point
Emotional Intelligence:	How well does the robot understand and respond to human emotions?	1 point
	Does it display empathy and provide emotional support when needed?	1 point

Behavioral Scoring:

Action	Scoring
Facial Expressions and Gestures: How well does the robot convey emotions through facial expressions and gestures? Are they natural, nuanced, and appropriately timed?	2 points
Proactive Engagement: How well does the robot initiate conversations and engage with users? Does it ask relevant questions, show curiosity, and demonstrate an active interest in the user's well-being?	2 points
Body Language: How well does the robot utilize body language to communicate non-verbally? Are its movements fluid, responsive, and aligned with the context of the interaction?	2 points
Social Etiquette: How well does the robot adhere to social norms and etiquette during interactions? Does it maintain appropriate personal space, use polite language, and respect cultural sensitivities?	2 points
Penalties will be assessed as follows:
(-.5 points) The robot collides with any obstacles (walls, furniture, etc.)	-.5 points
(-.5 points) The robot drops the order	-.5 points
(-1 point) The robot stops responding	-1 point
(-1 point) The robot stops working	-1 point
Disqualification:
The robot behaves in a manner that threatens the safety of any of the volunteers, referees, or spectators	Disqualified
The robot behaves in a manner that might damage the environment or itself	Disqualified

Overall Score:

The overall score will be calculated as (Interaction Outcome Score + Behavioral Score - Penalties) / 2. In the event of ties, the team with the faster time will be ranked first.