"I know how you performed!": Fostering Engagement in a Gaming Situation Using Memory of Past Interaction

Studying long-term human-robot interactions in the context of playing games can help answer many questions about how humans perceive robots. This paper presents the results of a study where the robot Flobi [11] plays a game of pairs against a human player and employs a memory with information about past interactions. The study focuses on long-term effects, namely the novelty effect, and how a memory with statistics about past game-plays can be used to cope with that effect. We also investigate how an autonomous interaction compares to a remotely controlled system that plays flawlessly. Results showed that providing information about how players performed throughout the interaction can help to keep them more interested and engaged. Nevertheless, results also showed that this information in combination with perfect playing skills tended to promote a more negative perception of the interaction and of the robot.