Multi-party open-ended conversation with a social robot

. Participants reported clear social presence and positive engagement, although technical barriers such as audio-based speaker recognition errors and response latency affected the fluidity of group interactions. The results highlight both the promise and limitations of LLM-based multi-party interaction and outline concrete directions for improving multimodal cue integration and responsiveness in future social robots.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Frontiers in Robotics and AI
Published
2026-04-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2026.1766383
Primary Topic
Social Robot Interaction and HRI
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Multi-party open-ended conversation with a social robot

Giulio Antonio Abbo, Martijn Catrycke, Maria Jose Pinto-Bernal, Tony Belpaeme
Frontiers in Robotics and AI
Social Robot Interaction and HRI
article

Multi-party open-ended conversation with a social robot

Giulio Antonio Abbo, Martijn Catrycke, Maria Jose Pinto-Bernal, Tony Belpaeme
article en

Abstract

. Participants reported clear social presence and positive engagement, although technical barriers such as audio-based speaker recognition errors and response latency affected the fluidity of group interactions. The results highlight both the promise and limitations of LLM-based multi-party interaction and outline concrete directions for improving multimodal cue integration and responsiveness in future social robots.

Frontiers in Robotics and AIVol. 13
Ghent University (BE)
Universiteit Gent, Vlaamse regering, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds UGent, HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 21%
Social Robot Interaction and HRI
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.