A model of handing interaction towards a pedestrian

This video reports our research on developing a model for a robot handing flyers to pedestrians. The difficulty is that potential receivers are pedestrians who are not necessarily cooperative; thus, the robot needs to appropriately plan its motion making it is easy and non-obstructive for potential receivers to receive the flyers. In order to establish a model, we analyzed human interaction, and found that (1) a giver approaches a pedestrian from frontal right/left but not frontal center, and (2) he simultaneously stops his walking motion and arm-extending motion at the moment when he hands out the flyer. Using these findings, we established a model for a robot to perform natural proactive handing. The proposed model is implemented in a humanoid robot and is confirmed as effective in a field experiment.