Researchers at Toyohashi University of Technology examined how people behave and how comfortable they feel when handing over packages to autonomous delivery robots while walking. The study, conducted by the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit and the Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory, assessed approach distances, walking behavior, and subjective comfort in three controlled experiments.
The first experiment measured changes in walking behavior in response to different robot approach distances. When the robot moved to a close position, participants often slowed their pace and at times stopped briefly. In the second experiment, the researchers evaluated the effect of package weight on perceived comfort. Participants reported higher comfort levels when the robot approached closely, particularly when carrying heavier items, and lower comfort when the robot remained farther away. A third experiment compared individuals with and without prior experience interacting with robots, with no marked differences observed between the two groups.
According to the authors, the results indicate that approach distance influences whether people perceive robot motion as cooperative in the context of handing over a package. Assistant Professor Hideki Tamura stated that robot movement needs to be designed so that it feels natural to users, adding that incorporating human cognitive and behavioral characteristics may support more comfortable interaction.
The research team plans to extend the work to environments that resemble real-world logistics scenarios. Future studies will examine how factors such as robot appearance, size, sound, speed, and movement direction affect human comfort and perception, with the goal of developing design principles for mobile robots operating in shared spaces.
