Ryo Miyoshi

Ryo Miyoshi, Yuki Okafuji, Takuya Iwamoto et al.

In recent years, the demand for social robots has grown, requiring them to adapt their behaviors based on users' states. Accurately assessing user experience (UX) in human-robot interaction (HRI) is crucial for achieving this adaptability. UX is a multi-faceted measure encompassing aspects such as sentiment and engagement, yet existing methods often focus on these individually. This study proposes a UX estimation method for HRI by leveraging multimodal social signals. We construct a UX dataset and develop a Transformer-based model that utilizes facial expressions and voice for estimation. Unlike conventional models that rely on momentary observations, our approach captures both short- and long-term interaction patterns using a multi-instance learning framework. This enables the model to capture temporal dynamics in UX, providing a more holistic representation. Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms third-party human evaluators in UX estimation.

He Zhu, Ryo Miyoshi, Yuki Okafuji

Prior human-robot interaction (HRI) research has primarily focused on single-user interactions, where robots do not need to consider the timing or recipient of their responses. However, in multi-party interactions, such as at malls and hospitals, social robots must understand the context and decide both when and to whom they should respond. In this paper, we propose a Transformer-based multi-task learning framework to improve the decision-making process of social robots, particularly in multi-user environments. Considering the characteristics of HRI, we propose two novel loss functions: one that enforces constraints on active speakers to improve scene modeling, and another that guides response selection towards utterances specifically directed at the robot. Additionally, we construct a novel multi-party HRI dataset that captures real-world complexities, such as gaze misalignment. Experimental results demonstrate that our model achieves state-of-the-art performance in respond decisions, outperforming existing heuristic-based and single-task approaches. Our findings contribute to the development of socially intelligent social robots capable of engaging in natural and context-aware multi-party interactions.