Robots’ autonomous navigation in public spaces and
their social awareness suited to the environmental context is an
active investigation in HRI. In this paper, we are presenting a
methodology to achieve this goal. While most navigation models
focus on objects, context, or human presence in the scene, we
will incorporate all three to perceive the environment more
accurately. Other than scene perception, the other important
aspect of socially aware navigation is the social norms associated
with the context. To do so, we have included interviews with
museum visitors, volunteers, and staff to gather information
about museums and convert the text data to social rules. This
effort is currently in progress, we present a framework for future
study and analysis of this problem.

CHS: Small: Socially-Aware Navigation, National Science Foundation PI: David Feil-Seifer, co-PI: Monica Nicolescu, Amount: $500,000, Sept. 1, 2017 - May 31, 2022