Robots Who Interrupt Talk in Meetings

Knowledge sharing is an important aspect in most meetings. Personal characteristics of some participants, such as their (in)ability
or (un)willingness to take the floor, may have a negative effect on
the quality of knowledge sharing; some people tend to talk too
much, while others have difficulties in making themselves heard. A
robotic facilitator can be used to distribute the floor time more efficiently.
While current research is mostly focused on encouraging
participants to talk, this paper suggests interruption functionality
to discourage speakers from talking. The facilitator gathers turn-
taking signals from the participants and expresses them on their
behalf. It hides the identity of individuals, making it easier for every-
one to take action. The facilitator represents the signals coherently
for all signalers, which equalizes the differences in social signalling
skills, and makes it easier for the speaker to interpret the signals. It
continuously gathers feedback from all participants, and thereby
can represent the collective mood of the audience and smooth out
outlier reactions. The facilitator can be programmed to act in a
germane, courteous and attentive manner, which helps keeping the
meeting mood high.