"In most cases, user experience design (UX or UXD or UED) fully encompasses traditional human-computer interaction (HCI) design, and extends it by addressing all aspects of a product or service as perceived by users."
In near future, I think that this area will be fruitful, especially for Robot assisted therapy related ones?
Is there any resource that is related to human-robot interaction for UX designers?
There are a bunch of references available on the internet.
Werry & Dautenhahn (2007) showed that an interactive, mobile robot engages children with autism better than a non-robotic conventional toy. A physician or physiotherapist may use robotic technology in order to find out about the nature of a particular medical condition or impairment, e.g. to find out about the nature of motor impairment after stroke, and may use an assessment robot to be tested with both healthy people and stroke patients. Similarly, a psychologist may study the nature of autism by using robotic artefacts, comparing,e.g. how children respond to social cues, speech or tactile interaction. Such artifacts would be tools in the research on the nature of the disorder or disability, rather than an assistive tool built to assist the patients — which means it would also have to take into consideration the patient's individual differences, likes and dislikes and preferences in the context of using the tool.
This paper describes a User Experience (UX) study on industrial robots in the context of a semiconductor factory cleanroom. We accompanied the deployment of a new robotic arm, without a safety fence, over one and a half years. Within our study, we explored if there is a UX difference between robots which have been used for more than 10 years within a safety fence (type A robot) and a newly deployed robot without fence (type B robot). Further, we investigated if the UX ratings change over time. The departments of interest were the oven (type A robots), the etching (type B robot), and the implantation department (type B robot). To observe experience changes over time, a UX questionnaire was developed and distributed to the operators at three defined points in time within these departments. The first survey was conducted one week after the deployment of robot B (n=23), the second survey was deployed six months later (n=21), and the third survey was distributed one and a half years later (n=23). Our results show an increasing positive UX towards the newly deployed robots with progressing time, which partly aligns with the UX ratings of the robots in safety fences. However, this effect seems to fade after one year. We further found that the UX ratings for all scales for the established robots were stable at all three points in time
I also recommend looking at this press post which talks about social robots and their influence on humans in an assistive aspect.To quote an excerpt from the article
Robots can also teach children with special needs how to play with one an- other. If a child is touching the robot inappropriately-slapping, say, instead of stroking-the robot may back away or emit a warning beep to encourage the child to change his behavior. Then, as the child begins to master interactive skills, the robot's behavior may become increasingly unpredictable, preparing the child for dealing with humans.
Dautenhahn has noticed that autistic children playing with Kaspar may also spontaneously begin interacting with their teachers. "One withdrawn boy who never played with other children or his teacher became very interested in Kaspar's eyes," she says. "He pointed to Kaspar's eyes, then to his own, and then, smiling, to his teacher's eyes. This was an invitation to share, and the boy and his teacher played together."
Children with physical disabilities, too, respond well to robots. In three schools in Austria, PlayROB gives children with cerebral palsy and other severe disabilities the chance to play independently. Controlling the robot with a joystick, buttons, their mouths or even just head movements, the chil- dren can direct it to build LEGO structures and do additional activities that let them experience the creative expression, spatial recognition and accomplishment that other children get from playing
Other articles worth exploring are given below
