Experiencing the flow: design issues in human-robot interaction

The experience of "emotional tuning" with artefacts that are not merely static (a teapot), nor merely reactive (a VCR), but that are autonomous, physical objects with decision-making abilities, pro-active, dynamic and designed with the general purpose of engaging users in social interaction, is an intriguing issue for interaction design. This paper is a reflection about the compelling yet difficult nature of interaction dynamics among humans and robots, and a special category among them: robots capable of mediating social interaction. Supporting such experiences means providing intensive embedding in the situation, motivating the users through a sense of engagement, similarly to what Csikszentmihalyi (1990) defines "optimal flow", the absolute absorption in the activity where the experience is guided by the personal feeling of the external worlds. The objective of our investigation is to analyze and try to understand if and when robotic devices can engage humans in activities likely to result in "being in the flow". We will try to analyze the different dimensions of flow in relation to different kinds of robotic devices: the seal robot Paro, used both for company and for therapeutic activities, the Intelligent Building Blocks, a robotic construction kit often used in educational activities, LEGO Mindstorms, the popular construction kit developed by LEGO. The perspective that will be presented is connected to the quality of interaction and to the personal significance that every human being creates by getting involved and involving its own life experience in the interaction with the robot.