This study provides an in-depth analysis and practical solution to the problem of designing and implementing a human-robot team for simple conversational interactions. Models for operation timing, customer satisfaction and customer-robot interaction are presented, based on which a simulation tool is developed to estimate fan-out and robot team performance. Techniques for managing interaction flow and operator task assignment are introduced. In simulation, the effectiveness of different techniques and factors related to team performance are studied. A case study on deploying multiple robots in a shopping mall is then presented to demonstrate the usefulness of our study in helping the design and implementation of social robots in real-world settings.

This study explores the nature of the multi-robot control problem for social robots. It begins by modeling the overall structure of a human-robot team for social interactions, and implements it for specific applications to dialog-based interactions. Operator activity during control of a social robot is studied. Customer satisfaction is proposed as an important metric for evaluating the performance of a human-robot team for social interactions with customers. Based on the modeling, fan-out of a social robot team can be calculated, and the performance of the team is estimated by simulation. A field trial was conducted in a shopping mall to demonstrate a successful deployment of social robots for a real-world application with ensured performance prior to installation using our modeling and simulation approach.