# Emotional Tandem Robots: How Different Robot Behaviors Affect Human Perception While Controlling a Mobile Robot

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.03746 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.03746/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 6 Mar 2024.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Affective and Conversational Predictors of Re-Engagement in Human-Robot Interactions -- A Student-Centered Study with A Humanoid Social Robot](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.16449/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In human-robot interaction (HRI), we study how humans interact with robots, but also the effects of robot behavior on human perception and well-being. Especially, the influence on humans by tandem robots with one human controlled and one autonomous robot or even semi-autonomous multi-robot systems is not yet fully understood. Here, we focus on a leader-follower scenario and study how emotionally expressive motion patterns of a small, mobile follower robot affect the perception of a human operator controlling the leading robot. We examined three distinct emotional behaviors for the follower compared to a neutral condition: angry, happy and sad. We analyzed how participants maneuvered the leader robot along a set path while experiencing each follower behavior in a randomized order. We identified a significant shift in attention toward the follower with emotionally expressive behaviors compared to the neutral condition. For example, the angry behavior significantly heightened participant stress levels and was considered the least preferred behavior. The happy behavior was the most preferred and associated with increased excitement by the participants. Integrating the proposed behaviors in robots can profoundly influence the human operator's attention, emotional state, and overall experience. These insights are valuable for future HRI tandem robot designs.