A Study on Automated Receptionists in a Real-World Scenario

Ralf Wolter*, Koen V. Hindriks, Dalya Samur, Catholijn M. Jonker

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book / Report / Conference proceedingConference contributionAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

The commercial availability of robots and voice-operated smart devices such as Alexa or Google Home have some companies wondering whether they can replace some current human interactions by using these devices. One such area of interaction is at the reception desk. While both platforms can offer the necessary interaction features to take on the task of an automated receptionist, the question remains as to which platform actual visitors would prefer - body or no body? To this end we created a receptionist agent that can receive visitors with an appointment, presented as either an embodied robot or a disembodied smart display. The agent uses common commercial products and services, and was tested in a real-world environment with real visitors. The results show no significant difference in visitor preference for either platform.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAdvances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Trustworthiness. The PAAMS Collection
Subtitle of host publication18th International Conference, PAAMS 2020, L'Aquila, Italy, October 7–9, 2020, Proceedings
EditorsYves Demazeau, Tom Holvoet, Juan M. Corchado, Stefania Costantini
PublisherSpringer
Pages340-352
Number of pages13
ISBN (Electronic)9783030497781
ISBN (Print)9783030497774
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Event18th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, PAAMS 2020 - L’Aquila, Italy
Duration: 7 Oct 20209 Oct 2020

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume12092 LNAI
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference18th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, PAAMS 2020
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityL’Aquila
Period7/10/209/10/20

Keywords

  • Automated receptionist
  • Dialogue management
  • Embodiment
  • Human-robot interaction
  • Social agents

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