A case study of collaboration with multi-robots and its effect on children's interaction

Learning how to carry out collaborative tasks is critical to the development of a student's capacity for social interaction. In this study, a multi-robot system was designed for students. In three different scenarios, students controlled robots in order to move dice; we then examined their collaborative strategies and their behavioral interactions. The following three scenarios were used: three students to three robots, three students to two robots, and two students to three robots. The experimental samples comprised sixth-grade students in elementary schools, 16 groups in total, and each group comprised three students. The results revealed three collaborative strategies for solving problems that emerged from the three scenarios: (1) independent-control (like cooperation), (2) mutual-control (like collaboration), and (3) coordinator-directed (like collaboration with coordinator). This study also found that students completed a task better with the least required time when they adopted the mutual-control strategy. In addition, coordination in the mutual-control and coordinator-directed strategies was generally regarded as helpful to task completion. With respect to behavioral interactions, students understood the importance of coordination yet still recognized that the skill of negotiation had to be learned. Our results suggest that the mutual-control and coordinator-directed collaborative strategy increased the frequency of task related interactions. Because collaboration inevitably entails conflicts, we should guide students not only in preventing these conflicts but also in learning how to cope with conflict and communicate and coordinate with others. By working together, learners had to figure out how to reduce conflicts, which was both a benefit to the completion of their collaborative tasks and an important skill for their socialization.