Expanding the Interaction Repertoire of a Social Drone: Physically Expressive Possibilities of a Perched BiRDe

The field of human–drone interaction (HDI) has investigated an increasing number of applications for social drones, all while focusing on the drone’s inherent ability to fly, thus overpassing interaction opportunities, such as a drone in its perched (i.e., non-flying) state. A drone cannot constantly fly and a need for more realistic HDI is needed, therefore, in this exploratory work, we have decoupled a social drone’s flying state from its perched state and investigated user interpretations of its physical rendering. To do so, we designed and developed BiRDe: a Bodily expressIons and Respiration Drone conveying Emotions. BiRDe was designed to render a range of emotional states by modulating its respiratory rate (RR) and changing its body posture using reconfigurable wings and head positions. Following its design, a validation study was conducted. In a laboratory study, participants (\({N}={30}\)) observed and labeled twelve of BiRDe’s emotional behaviors using Valence and Arousal based emotional states. We identified consistent patterns in how BiRDe’s RR, wings, and head had influenced perception in terms of valence, arousal, and willingness to interact. Furthermore, participants interpreted 11 out of the 12 behaviors in line with our initial design intentions. This work demonstrates a drone’s ability to communicate emotions even while perched and offers design implications and future applications.