Hand Over or Place on the Table? A Study On Robotic Object Delivery When the Recipient Is Occupied

This study investigates the subjective experiences of users in two robotic object delivery methods: direct handover and table placement, when users are occupied with another task. A user study involving 15 participants engaged in a typing game revealed that table placement significantly enhances user experience compared to direct handovers, particularly in terms of satisfaction, perceived safety and intuitiveness. Additionally, handovers negatively impacted typing performance, while all participants expressed a clear preference for table placement as the delivery method. These findings highlight the advantages of table placement in scenarios requiring minimal user disruption.