Piggybacking Robots Human-Robot Overtrust in University Dormitory Security

• Published in: 2017 12th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI pp. 426 - 434
• Main Authors: Booth, Serena, Tompkin, James, Pfister, Hanspeter, Waldo, Jim, Gajos, Krzysztof, Nagpal, Radhika
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY, USA ACM 06.03.2017
• Series: ACM Conferences
• Subjects: Computer systems organization > Embedded and cyber-physical systems > Robotics; Computer systems organization > Embedded and cyber-physical systems > Robotics > Robotic autonomy; General and reference > Cross-computing tools and techniques > Empirical studies; General and reference > Cross-computing tools and techniques > Experimentation; Human-centered computing > Human computer interaction (HCI) > Empirical studies in HCI; Human-centered computing > Human computer interaction (HCI) > HCI design and evaluation methods > Field studies; Human-centered computing > Human computer interaction (HCI) > HCI design and evaluation methods > User studies; Human-robot interaction; Robots; Security; Security and privacy > Human and societal aspects of security and privacy; Security and privacy > Human and societal aspects of security and privacy > Privacy protections; Security and privacy > Human and societal aspects of security and privacy > Social aspects of security and privacy; Security and privacy > Intrusion/anomaly detection and malware mitigation > Social engineering attacks; Security and privacy > Security in hardware; Social and professional topics > Computing > technology policy > Privacy policies; Weapons; trust; overtrust; robotics; tailgating; piggybacking; secure access
• ISBN: 9781450343367; 1450343368
• ISSN: 2167-2148
• DOI: 10.1145/2909824.3020211

Can overtrust in robots compromise physical security? We conducted a series of experiments in which a robot positioned outside a secure-access student dormitory asked passersby to assist it to gain access. We found individual participants were as likely to assist the robot in exiting the dormitory (40% assistance rate, 4/10 individuals) as in entering (19%, 3/16 individuals). Groups of people were more likely than individuals to assist the robot in entering (71%, 10/14 groups). When the robot was disguised as a food delivery agent for the fictional start-up Robot Grub, individuals were more likely to assist the robot in entering (76%, 16/21 individuals). Lastly, we found participants who identified the robot as a bomb threat demonstrated a trend toward assisting the robot (87%, 7/8 individuals, 6/7 groups). Thus, we demonstrate that overtrust---the unfounded belief that the robot does not intend to deceive or carry risk---can represent a significant threat to physical security at a university dormitory.