Greetings, 

I am Lixiao Zhu

Human-Robot Interaction Researcher and Roboticist

LinkedInGitHubLink

I am a passionate researcher with a focus on human-robot interaction (HRI) and its implications for society. My strong background in programming and interest in new technology have led me to explore the cutting edge of robotics research and development. In addition to my research, I am also an avid gamer and enjoy all types of games in my free time. I also enjoy building PCs and have a wealth of DIY information that I am always happy to share with others. Through my work and hobbies, I am dedicated to discovering new ways for humans and robots to interact in a meaningful and productive way. Overall, I am eager to connect with others who share my interests and passions, and I look forward to exploring new ideas and opportunities together. 

Pushing the Boundaries of Human-Robot Interaction

Zhu-TeaserVideo.mp4
Zhu-Poster.pdf

Investigating Robot Influence on Human Behaviour By Leveraging Entrainment Effects

Humans naturally tend to synchronize their movements with others, a phenomenon known as the entrainment effect, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. This phenomenon extends to interactions between humans and robots, which could have either positive or negative consequences for the human partner. We propose a human-subject study aimed at investigating the use of robots to influence human behaviour through entrainment in diverse Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) scenarios. The current work involves two human-subject experiments investigating the impact of robots on short-term human behaviour, encompassing human-human and human-robot interactions. The goal is to comprehend how variations in robot actions, such as movement frequency during repetitive tasks, influence human perceptions and behaviours in collaborative lab-based settings. Another objective is to investigate the factors that make participants aware of the entrainment effect during HRI. The preliminary results of the HHI experiment provide evidence that individuals tend to synchronize their movements with another person.

3610978.3638367.pdf
HRI-speedup2.mp4

Effects of Proactive Explanations by Robots on Human-Robot Trust

zhu2020icsr.Mp4

The performance of human-robot teams depends on human-robot trust, which in turn depends on appropriate robot-to-human transparency. A key way for robots to build trust through transparency is by providing appropriate explanations for their actions. While most previous work on robot explanation generation has focused on robots’ ability to provide post-hoc explanations upon request, in this paper we instead examine proactive explanations generated before actions are taken, and the effect this has on human-robot trust. Our results suggest a positive relationship between proactive explanations and human-robot trust, and reveal fundamental new questions into the effects of proactive explanations on the nature of humans’ mental models and the fundamental nature of human-robot trust.

ICSR_poster_Lixiao_Zhu.pdf
ICSR_Proactive_Explanation.pdf

Get in touch at lixiao.zhu[at]outlook.com