Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study

Chongyang Wang; Tianyi Xia; Yifan Wang; Gang Yu; Zixuan Zhao; Siqi Zheng; Manqiu Liao; Chen Liang; Yuan Gao; Chun Yu; Yuntao Wang; Yuanchun Shi

doi:10.1145/3746059.3747666

Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study

Chongyang Wang
, Tianyi Xia
, Yifan Wang
, Gang Yu
, Zixuan Zhao
, Siqi Zheng
, Manqiu Liao
, Chen Liang
, Yuan Gao
, Chun Yu^*
, Yuntao Wang
, Yuanchun Shi

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication) › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

We are witnessing a new epoch in embodied social agents. Most of the work has focused on ground or desktop robots that enjoy technical maturity and rich social channels but are often limited by terrain. Drones, which enable spatial mobility, currently face issues with safety and proximity. This paper explores a social balloon robot as a viable alternative that combines these advantages and alleviates limitations. To this end, we developed a hardware prototype named BalloonBot that integrates various devices for social functioning and a helium balloon. We conducted an exploratory lab study on users' perceptions and expectations about its demonstrated interactions and functions. Our results show promise in using such a robot as another form of socially embodied agent. We highlight its unique mobile and approachable characteristics that harvest novel user experiences and outline factors that should be considered before its broad applications. © 2025 the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	UIST '25 - Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
Editors	Andrea Bianchi, Elena Glassman, Wendy E. Mackay, Shengdong Zhao, Jeeeun Kim, Ian Oakley
Place of Publication	New York, NY
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Print)	9798400720376
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3746059.3747666
Publication status	Published - Sept 2025
Externally published	Yes
Event	38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2025) - Busan, Korea, Republic of Duration: 28 Sept 2025 → 1 Oct 2025 https://uist.acm.org/2025/

Publication series

Name	UIST - Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology

Conference

Conference	38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2025)
Abbreviated title	UIST'25
Place	Korea, Republic of
City	Busan
Period	28/09/25 → 1/10/25
Internet address	https://uist.acm.org/2025/

Funding

This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 62402271, and National Key R&D Program of China under Grant No. 2024YFB4505500.

Research Keywords

flying robots
human-robot interaction
social robots

Access Output

10.1145/3746059.3747666

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Cite this

Wang, C., Xia, T., Wang, Y., Yu, G., Zhao, Z., Zheng, S., Liao, M., Liang, C., Gao, Y., Yu, C., Wang, Y., & Shi, Y. (2025). Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study. In A. Bianchi, E. Glassman, W. E. Mackay, S. Zhao, J. Kim, & I. Oakley (Eds.), UIST '25 - Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology Article 113 (UIST - Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3746059.3747666

Wang, Chongyang ; Xia, Tianyi ; Wang, Yifan et al. / Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study. UIST '25 - Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. editor / Andrea Bianchi ; Elena Glassman ; Wendy E. Mackay ; Shengdong Zhao ; Jeeeun Kim ; Ian Oakley. New York, NY : Association for Computing Machinery, 2025. (UIST - Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology).

@inproceedings{d6764f0bd1dc40beb47b4ca339bf3e3e,

title = "Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study",

abstract = "We are witnessing a new epoch in embodied social agents. Most of the work has focused on ground or desktop robots that enjoy technical maturity and rich social channels but are often limited by terrain. Drones, which enable spatial mobility, currently face issues with safety and proximity. This paper explores a social balloon robot as a viable alternative that combines these advantages and alleviates limitations. To this end, we developed a hardware prototype named BalloonBot that integrates various devices for social functioning and a helium balloon. We conducted an exploratory lab study on users' perceptions and expectations about its demonstrated interactions and functions. Our results show promise in using such a robot as another form of socially embodied agent. We highlight its unique mobile and approachable characteristics that harvest novel user experiences and outline factors that should be considered before its broad applications. {\textcopyright} 2025 the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM.",

keywords = "flying robots, human-robot interaction, social robots",

author = "Chongyang Wang and Tianyi Xia and Yifan Wang and Gang Yu and Zixuan Zhao and Siqi Zheng and Manqiu Liao and Chen Liang and Yuan Gao and Chun Yu and Yuntao Wang and Yuanchun Shi",

year = "2025",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1145/3746059.3747666",

language = "English",

isbn = "9798400720376",

series = "UIST - Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery",

editor = "Andrea Bianchi and Elena Glassman and Mackay, \{Wendy E.\} and Shengdong Zhao and Jeeeun Kim and Ian Oakley",

booktitle = "UIST '25 - Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology",

address = "United States",

note = "38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2025), UIST'25 ; Conference date: 28-09-2025 Through 01-10-2025",

url = "https://uist.acm.org/2025/",

}

Wang, C, Xia, T, Wang, Y, Yu, G, Zhao, Z, Zheng, S, Liao, M, Liang, C, Gao, Y, Yu, C, Wang, Y & Shi, Y 2025, Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study. in A Bianchi, E Glassman, WE Mackay, S Zhao, J Kim & I Oakley (eds), UIST '25 - Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology., 113, UIST - Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2025), Busan, Korea, Republic of, 28/09/25. https://doi.org/10.1145/3746059.3747666

Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study. / Wang, Chongyang; Xia, Tianyi; Wang, Yifan et al.
UIST '25 - Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. ed. / Andrea Bianchi; Elena Glassman; Wendy E. Mackay; Shengdong Zhao; Jeeeun Kim; Ian Oakley. New York, NY: Association for Computing Machinery, 2025. 113 (UIST - Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology).

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication) › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study

AU - Wang, Chongyang

AU - Xia, Tianyi

AU - Wang, Yifan

AU - Yu, Gang

AU - Zhao, Zixuan

AU - Zheng, Siqi

AU - Liao, Manqiu

AU - Liang, Chen

AU - Gao, Yuan

AU - Yu, Chun

AU - Wang, Yuntao

AU - Shi, Yuanchun

PY - 2025/9

Y1 - 2025/9

N2 - We are witnessing a new epoch in embodied social agents. Most of the work has focused on ground or desktop robots that enjoy technical maturity and rich social channels but are often limited by terrain. Drones, which enable spatial mobility, currently face issues with safety and proximity. This paper explores a social balloon robot as a viable alternative that combines these advantages and alleviates limitations. To this end, we developed a hardware prototype named BalloonBot that integrates various devices for social functioning and a helium balloon. We conducted an exploratory lab study on users' perceptions and expectations about its demonstrated interactions and functions. Our results show promise in using such a robot as another form of socially embodied agent. We highlight its unique mobile and approachable characteristics that harvest novel user experiences and outline factors that should be considered before its broad applications. © 2025 the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM.

AB - We are witnessing a new epoch in embodied social agents. Most of the work has focused on ground or desktop robots that enjoy technical maturity and rich social channels but are often limited by terrain. Drones, which enable spatial mobility, currently face issues with safety and proximity. This paper explores a social balloon robot as a viable alternative that combines these advantages and alleviates limitations. To this end, we developed a hardware prototype named BalloonBot that integrates various devices for social functioning and a helium balloon. We conducted an exploratory lab study on users' perceptions and expectations about its demonstrated interactions and functions. Our results show promise in using such a robot as another form of socially embodied agent. We highlight its unique mobile and approachable characteristics that harvest novel user experiences and outline factors that should be considered before its broad applications. © 2025 the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM.

KW - flying robots

KW - human-robot interaction

KW - social robots

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105022979061

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105022979061&origin=recordpage

U2 - 10.1145/3746059.3747666

DO - 10.1145/3746059.3747666

M3 - RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication)

SN - 9798400720376

T3 - UIST - Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology

BT - UIST '25 - Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology

A2 - Bianchi, Andrea

A2 - Glassman, Elena

A2 - Mackay, Wendy E.

A2 - Zhao, Shengdong

A2 - Kim, Jeeeun

A2 - Oakley, Ian

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

CY - New York, NY

T2 - 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2025)

Y2 - 28 September 2025 through 1 October 2025

ER -

Wang C, Xia T, Wang Y, Yu G, Zhao Z, Zheng S et al. Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study. In Bianchi A, Glassman E, Mackay WE, Zhao S, Kim J, Oakley I, editors, UIST '25 - Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology. New York, NY: Association for Computing Machinery. 2025. 113. (UIST - Proceedings of the Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology). Epub 2025 Sept 27. doi: 10.1145/3746059.3747666

Understanding Users' Perceptions and Expectations toward a Social Balloon Robot via an Exploratory Study

Abstract

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Research Keywords

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