Co-existing with Drones: A Virtual Exploration of Proxemic Behaviours and Users’ Insights on Social Drones

Abstract

Numerous studies have investigated proxemics in the context of human–robot interactions, but little is known about whether these insights can be applied to human–drone interactions (HDI). As drones become more common in social settings, it is crucial to ensure they navigate in a socially acceptable and human-friendly way. Understanding how individuals position themselves around drones is vital to promote user well-being and drones’ social acceptance. However, real-world constraints and risks associated with drones flying in close proximity to participants have limited research in this field. Virtual reality is a promising alternative for investigating HDI, as prior research suggests. This paper presents a proxemic user study (N = 45) in virtual reality, examining how drone height and framing influence participants’ proxemic preferences. The study also explores participants’ perceptions of social drones and their vision for the future of flying robots. Our findings show that drone height significantly impacts participants’ preferred interpersonal distance, while framing had no significant effect. Thoughts on how participants envision social drones (e.g., interaction, design, applications) reveal interpersonal differences but also shows overall consistency over time. While the study demonstrates the value of using virtual reality for HDI experiments, further research is necessary to determine the generalizability of our findings to real-world HDI scenarios.