Study Information
Project title: A Guessing Game for Humans and Social Robots
Principal Investigator: Prof. Moojan Ghafurian
Student Investigator: Shiyao Zhang
You are invited to participate in a study on human-robot interaction. We would like to conduct a study in which participants interact with a robot playing a number-guessing game. Before you agree to take part in this study, it is important for you to understand what you will be asked to do. Please read the information below and make a decision about whether or not you wish to participate. Feel free to ask us any questions about the study, or any part of this form that may not be clear.
Research Purpose
In this study, we aim to understand how you interact with a social robot in a teaming scenario, and what your experiences of the process and impressions of the robots. The ultimate goal of this study is to understand how we can improve human-robot interaction.
Procedure
After signing the consent form and answering a few demographic questions (including age, gender, home department, and prior experiences with robots), you will complete an in-person session where you will play a number-guess game with the robot while using an iPad to input the number you guess. You will be then asked a few questions through an online questionnaire. Both the demographic questions and the questionnaire will be used as part of the data analysis.
During the experiment, we will use cameras to record the interaction process between you and the robot. The Researchers will keep your identity confidential, and you will use a random ID assigned prior to the experiment to complete the entire session. The audios and videos are assisting in recording the experiment process. We will also use the FaceReader software to do video behavior analysis (such as your movements, and reactions to robots) to help us better understand the human-robot interaction process.
Although the robot will be your teammate, you cannot discuss game strategies or make physical contact with it during the whole session.
Duration/Time: The whole process will take approximately 20-30 minutes.
Participation and Withdrawal
Your participation in this study is voluntary, and you can stop at any point and ask us to delete the audio and video recordings. If you do decide to continue with the study, you will be asked to accept this consent form. Even if you do consent, you can withdraw from the study anytime during the session and within 2 weeks after this session ends, and we will remove all your information, voice and video recordings.
Confidentiality: You will not be identified individually in any written reports of this research. You will use a random ID to complete the whole session. The information collected from the audio/video and questionnaires will be assigned to this random ID and not associated with you; anything you input using the iPad will be deleted immediately after this experiment completes. The link between your name and the random ID will be kept confidential in an encrypted manner.
The data collected by the FaceReader software (metadata such as facial expressions that cannot be used to identify an individual) will be stored using AES256 encryption in Microsoft Azure’s “blob storage” that located exclusively in the European Economic Area. The data is only accessible to researchers of this study and will not be used for training or sharing with a third-party. You may withdraw your consent and your data within 2 weeks after this session ends. All data will be securely stored on the investigators’ computers for analysis, all of which are password-protected, as well as a password-protected lab server. De-identified data related to your participation (including experience with robots, questionnaire answers, and descriptions and transcription segments of the audio/video instead of the actual audio/video.) may be submitted to an online repository/and or journal as the source of data for data analysis. Though the data is posted for the purpose listed other individuals may access these data by accessing the open-access repository. Once it is added, it cannot be removed as we will not know which data belongs to you. Anonymized data will be stored by the research team for at least 7 years, and maybe published in public in the future.
Will I receive anything for participating? You will receive a gift card worth between $7 to $10 CAD, based on your game result ($7 for completing the game but failing, $10 for completing the game and winning). If at any point you decide to leave the study, you will be entitled to receive a remuneration of $3. The amount received is taxable. It is your responsibility to report this amount for income tax purposes. You will receive the gift card at the end of the game or earlier if you decide to leave the study.
What are the risks associated with participating? During the session, the robot interacts with the participant only verbally and will never make physical contact. The robot will never use harmful language and will be placed on the table more than an arm’s length away. You might feel slightly nervous during the game process, but it will not be greater than what you may experience in day to day life, and you can withdraw from the study anytime during the game.
Contact Information
If you have any questions or concerns or would like to speak to the research team for any reason, please contact: s873zhan@uwaterloo.ca.
This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through a University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board (REB #48147). If you have questions for the Board, contact the Office of Research Ethics, toll-free at 1-833-643-2379 (Canada and USA), 1-519-888-4440, or reb@uwaterloo.ca.