Horse as Teacher: How human-horse interaction informs human-robot interaction

Robots are entering our lives and workplaces as companions and teammates. Though much research has been done on how to interact with robots, teach robots and improve task performance, an open frontier for HCI/HRI research is how to establish a working relationship with a robot in the first place. Studies that explore the early stages of human-robot interaction are an emerging area of research. Simultaneously, there is resurging interest in how human-animal interaction could inform human-robot interaction. We present a first examination of early stage human-horse interaction through the lens of human-robot interaction, thus connecting these two areas. Following Strauss’ approach, we conduct a thematic analysis of data from three sources gathered over a year of field work: observations, interviews and journal entries. We contribute design guidelines based on our analyses and findings.