Background
BotsandUs are a data driven robotics and AI company operating in the service sector. They have developed autonomous hospitality robotic platform named Bo that interacts with customers and provides them with useful information. With each interaction feeding into an analytics portal that allows businesses to better understand their customers needs.

With their autonomous robots operating in public environments supporting members of the public with enquiries BotsandUs are reliant on a good user experience to ensure user satisfaction and prevent rejection. A poor user experience would likely frustrate users and result in vandalism of the robots or their removal by the venue. With the aid of City Interaction Lab BotsAndUs wanted to identify any issues with how members of the public interacted with the robots (Bo). They were also interested in how else the public imagined interacting with Bo in order to inform future developments.

What we did
City Interaction Lab initially conducted an Expert Review of the robotic platform (Bo). The researcher interacted with Bo using speech and touch (on an interactive screen) in order to complete tasks representative of the target audience. The researchers then produced a report categorising issues and actionable recommendations. Our researcher followed the Expert Review by conducting User Testing sessions where members of the public interacted with Bo to complete the same tasks. This allowed researchers to understand which of the issues really impacted users as well as capture users feedback around the use of robotics in public spaces and identify opportunities for future development.

Outcomes
Our research highlighted that target users had high expectations from the robotic platform that were not being delivered by its current functionality. BotsAndUs realised the robot needed more agency in order to offer value over traditional kiosks.