Daily Note: High- vs. Low-Granularity Interfaces in Intelligent Systems

These notes are a summary of concepts presented in “Balancing User Control and Perceived Robot Social Agency through the Design of End-User Robot Programming Interfaces.”

Alex Wuqi Zhang, Rafael Queiroz, and Sarah Sebo. 2025. Balancing User Control and Perceived Robot Social Agency through the Design of End-User Robot Programming Interfaces. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI ’25). IEEE Press, 899–908.

  1. High-Granularity Interfaces
    • Allows detailed control over robot actions.
    • Users customize each action in an interaction sequence.
    • Interface elements
      • Movement: Set destination, speed, stopping distance, and explanations.
      • Conversation: Input phrases and social scenarios.
      • Task: Limited options, with customizable news topics.
      • Vocal: Adjusts voice and speech pace across blocks.
  2. Low-Granularity Interface
    • Simplifies customization with sliders and buttons.
    • Offers broader control over the same features.
    • Customization options
      • Movement speed
      • Talking speed
      • Stopping distance
      • Robot persona
    • Preset options
    • Explainability
    • Ambient movement
    • News topics
  3. Research findings
    • Customization supports diverse user needs.
    • Too much detail can overwhelm users.
    • Low-Granularity Interface gave the best overall experience.
    • Balanced user control with robot social presence.
    • Interfaces should be intuitive and avoid developer-level complexity.