HRIStudio Thesis Implementation - Fall 2025

Sean O'Connor - CS Honors Thesis
Advisor: L. Felipe Perrone
Defense: April 2026

Implementation Status

Core platform infrastructure exists but MVP requires wizard interface implementation and robot control integration for functional trials.

Fall Development Sprint (10-12 weeks)

Sprint	Focus Area	Key Tasks	Success Metric
1 (3 weeks)	Wizard Interface MVP	Trial control interface Step navigation Action execution buttons	Functional wizard interface for trial control
2 (4 weeks)	Robot Integration	NAO6 API integration Basic action implementation Error handling and recovery	Wizard button → robot action
3 (3 weeks)	Real-time Infrastructure	WebSocket server implementation Multi-client session management Event broadcasting system	Multiple users connected to live trial
4 (2 weeks)	Integration Testing	Complete workflow validation Reliability testing Mock robot mode	30-minute trials without crashes

User Study Preparation (4-5 weeks)

Task Category	Deliverables	Effort
Study Design	Reference experiment selection Equivalent implementations (HRIStudio + Choregraphe) Protocol validation	3 weeks
Research Setup	IRB application submission Training material development Participant recruitment	2 weeks

MVP Implementation Priorities

Priority	Component	Current State	Target State
P0	Wizard Interface	Design exists, needs implementation	Functional trial control interface
P0	Robot Control	Simulated responses only	Live NAO6 hardware control
P0	Real-time Communication	Client hooks exist, no server	Multi-user live trial coordination
P1	Trial Execution	Basic framework exists	Integrated with wizard + robot hardware
P2	Data Capture	Basic logging	Comprehensive real-time events

Success Criteria by Phase

MVP Complete (10-12 weeks)

Wizard interface allows trial control and step navigation
Psychology researcher clicks interface → NAO6 performs action
Multiple observers watch trial with live updates
System remains stable during full experimental sessions
All trial events captured with timestamps

Study Ready (14-17 weeks)

Reference experiment works identically in both platforms
IRB approval obtained for comparative study
10-12 participants recruited from target disciplines
Platform validated with non-technical users

MVP Backlog - Priority Breakdown

P0 - Critical MVP Features

Story	Effort	Definition of Done
Wizard interface trial control	2 weeks	Interface for starting/stopping trials, navigating steps
Action execution buttons	1 week	Buttons for robot actions with real-time feedback
NAO6 API integration	3 weeks	Successfully connect to NAO6, execute basic commands
Basic robot actions	2 weeks	Speech, movement, posture actions working
WebSocket server implementation	2 weeks	Server accepts connections, handles authentication
Multi-client session management	1 week	Multiple users can join same trial session

P1 - High Priority Features

Story	Effort	Definition of Done
Event broadcasting system	1 week	Actions broadcast to all connected clients
Robot status monitoring	1 week	Connection status, error detection
End-to-end workflow testing	1.5 weeks	Complete trial execution with real robot

P2 - Backlog (Post-MVP)

Story	Effort	Definition of Done
Connection recovery mechanisms	1 week	Auto-reconnect on disconnect, graceful fallback
Mock robot development mode	0.5 weeks	Development without hardware dependency
Performance optimization	0.5 weeks	Response times under acceptable thresholds
Advanced data capture	1 week	Comprehensive real-time event logging

User Study Framework

Participants: 10-12 researchers from Psychology/Education
Task: Recreate published HRI experiment
Comparison: HRIStudio (experimental) vs Choregraphe (control)
Measures: Protocol accuracy, completion time, user experience ratings

Implementation Strategy

Core platform infrastructure exists but wizard interface needs full implementation alongside robot integration. Focus on MVP that enables basic trial execution with real robot control.

Critical Path: Wizard interface → WebSocket server → NAO6 integration → end-to-end testing → user study execution

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