A Machine Learning Approach to Dialogue Act Classification in Human-Robot Conversations : Evaluation of dialogue act classification with the robot Furhat and an analysis of the market for social robots used for education

Sammanfattning: The interest in social robots has grown dramatically in the last decade. Several studies have investigated the potential markets for such robots and how to enhance their human-like abilities. Both of these subjects have been investigated in this thesis using the company Furhat Robotics, and their robot Furhat, as a case study. This paper explores how machine learning could be used to classify dialogue acts in human-robot conversations, which could help Furhat interact in a more human-like way. Dialogue acts are acts of natural speech, such as questions or statements. Several variables and their impact on the classification of dialogue acts were tested. The results showed that a combination of some of these variables could classify 73 % of all the dialogue acts correctly. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the market for social robots which are used for education, where human-like abilities are preferable. A literature study and an interview were conducted. The market was then analyzed using a SWOT-matrix and Porter’s Five Forces. Although the study showed that the mentioned market could be a suitable target for Furhat Robotics, there are several threats and obstacles that should be taken into account before entering the market.