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refactor: update thesis protocol to remove test subjects and screen recordings, add tracking documentation, and refine bibliography entries.
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@@ -19,14 +19,14 @@ To address the accessibility and reproducibility problems in WoZ-based HRI resea
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This approach represents a shift from the current paradigm of custom, robot-specific tools toward a unified platform that can serve as shared infrastructure for the HRI research community. By treating experiment design, execution, and analysis as distinct but integrated phases of a study, such a framework can systematically address both technical barriers and sources of variability that currently limit research quality and reproducibility.
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The contributions of this thesis are the design principles of this approach, namely: a hierarchical specification model, an event-driven execution model, and a protocol/trial separation with explicit deviation logging. Together they form a coherent architecture for WoZ infrastructure that any implementation could adopt. The platform I developed, HRIStudio, is one implementation of this architecture: an open-source reference system that realizes those principles and serves as the instrument for empirical validation.
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The contributions of this thesis are the design principles of this approach, namely: a hierarchical specification model, an event-driven execution model, and a protocol/trial separation with explicit deviation logging. Together they form a coherent architecture for WoZ infrastructure that any implementation could adopt. The platform I developed, HRIStudio, is a complete realization of this architecture: an open-source, web-based platform that serves as both the primary artifact of this thesis and the instrument for empirical validation.
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\section{Research Objectives}
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This thesis builds upon foundational work presented in two prior peer-reviewed publications. Prof. Perrone and I first introduced the conceptual framework for HRIStudio at the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) \cite{OConnor2024}, establishing the vision for a collaborative, web-based platform. Subsequently, we published the detailed system architecture and a first prototype at RO-MAN 2025 \cite{OConnor2025}, validating the technical feasibility of web-based robot control. Those publications established the vision and the prototype. This thesis formalizes the contribution: a set of design principles for WoZ infrastructure that simultaneously address the \textit{Accessibility} and \textit{Reproducibility} Problems, a reference implementation of those principles, and pilot empirical evidence that they produce measurably different outcomes in practice.
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This thesis builds upon foundational work presented in two prior peer-reviewed publications. Prof. Perrone and I first introduced the conceptual framework for HRIStudio at the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN) \cite{OConnor2024}, establishing the vision for a collaborative, web-based platform. Subsequently, we published the detailed system architecture and a first prototype at RO-MAN 2025 \cite{OConnor2025}, validating the technical feasibility of web-based robot control. Those publications established the vision and the prototype. This thesis formalizes the contribution: a set of design principles for WoZ infrastructure that simultaneously address the \textit{Accessibility} and \textit{Reproducibility} Problems, a complete platform that realizes those principles, and pilot empirical evidence that they produce measurably different outcomes in practice.
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The central question this thesis addresses is: \emph{can the right software architecture make Wizard-of-Oz experiments more accessible to non-programmers and more reproducible across participants?} To answer it, I propose a hierarchical, event-driven specification model that separates protocol design from trial execution, enforces action sequences, and logs deviations automatically; implement it as HRIStudio; and evaluate it in a pilot study comparing design fidelity and execution reliability against a representative baseline tool. The goal is not to prove a statistical effect at scale, but to establish directional evidence that the architecture changes what researchers can do and how consistently they can do it.
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\section{Chapter Summary}
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This chapter has established the context and objectives for this thesis. I identified two critical challenges facing WoZ-based HRI research. The first is the \emph{Accessibility Problem}: high technical barriers limit participation by non-programmers. The second is the \emph{Reproducibility Problem}: fragmented tooling makes results difficult to replicate across labs. I proposed a web-based framework approach that addresses these challenges through intuitive design interfaces, enforced experimental protocols, and platform-agnostic architecture. Finally, I posed the central research question (can a hierarchical, event-driven specification model with explicit deviation logging lower the technical barrier and improve reproducibility of WoZ experiments?) and described how this thesis addresses it through formal design, a reference implementation, and a pilot validation study. The next chapters establish the technical and methodological foundations.
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This chapter has established the context and objectives for this thesis. I identified two critical challenges facing WoZ-based HRI research. The first is the \emph{Accessibility Problem}: high technical barriers limit participation by non-programmers. The second is the \emph{Reproducibility Problem}: fragmented tooling makes results difficult to replicate across labs. I proposed a web-based framework approach that addresses these challenges through intuitive design interfaces, enforced experimental protocols, and platform-agnostic architecture. Finally, I posed the central research question (can a hierarchical, event-driven specification model with explicit deviation logging lower the technical barrier and improve reproducibility of WoZ experiments?) and described how this thesis addresses it through formal design, a complete platform, and a pilot validation study. The next chapters establish the technical and methodological foundations.
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