TY - GEN
T1 - ENtry, Occupancy, EXit (NOX)
T2 - 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2026
AU - Bretin, Robin
AU - Dheilly, Robin
AU - Cauchard, Jessica R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).
PY - 2026/4/13
Y1 - 2026/4/13
N2 - Spatial tensions in real-world deployments of autonomous robots (e.g., sidewalk conflicts, boundary violations) expose a critical oversight: the neglect of space as a social construct through which people form expectations and regulate access and behavior, that is, Territoriality. Beyond proxemics, Human-Robot Interaction lacks the theoretical models and shared vocabulary needed to support empirical research on this dimension. To address this gap, we adapt insights from environmental psychology to develop NOX (ENtry, Occupancy, EXit), a stage-based model of human-robot territorial dynamics. NOX pinpoints sources of robot territorial infringement (i.e., friction points) which were validated in a between-subjects vignette study (N = 290). Our findings indicate that mismatches between robot behavior and human expectations at these friction points are associated with more negative affect, higher defensive intent, and lower perceived appropriateness. NOX clarifies this facet of human-robot spatial relationship and identifies future directions for design and research toward harmonious integration in human environments.
AB - Spatial tensions in real-world deployments of autonomous robots (e.g., sidewalk conflicts, boundary violations) expose a critical oversight: the neglect of space as a social construct through which people form expectations and regulate access and behavior, that is, Territoriality. Beyond proxemics, Human-Robot Interaction lacks the theoretical models and shared vocabulary needed to support empirical research on this dimension. To address this gap, we adapt insights from environmental psychology to develop NOX (ENtry, Occupancy, EXit), a stage-based model of human-robot territorial dynamics. NOX pinpoints sources of robot territorial infringement (i.e., friction points) which were validated in a between-subjects vignette study (N = 290). Our findings indicate that mismatches between robot behavior and human expectations at these friction points are associated with more negative affect, higher defensive intent, and lower perceived appropriateness. NOX clarifies this facet of human-robot spatial relationship and identifies future directions for design and research toward harmonious integration in human environments.
KW - Human-Robot Interaction
KW - Model
KW - Proxemics
KW - Territoriality
KW - Theory
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105038659496
U2 - 10.1145/3772318.3791257
DO - 10.1145/3772318.3791257
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105038659496
T3 - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings
BT - CHI 2026 - Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
A2 - Oliver, Nuria
A2 - Shamma, David A.
A2 - Candello, Heloisa
A2 - Cesar, Pablo
A2 - Lopes, Pedro
A2 - Bozzon, Alessandro
A2 - Kosch, Thomas
A2 - Liao, Vera
A2 - Ma, Xiaojuan
A2 - Artizzu, Valentino
A2 - Draxler, Fiona
A2 - Lopez, Gustavo
A2 - Reinschluessel, Anke V.
A2 - Tong, Xin
A2 - Toups Dugas, Phoebe O.
PB - Association for Computing Machinery
Y2 - 13 April 2026 through 17 April 2026
ER -