The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the personal space characteristics of human-robot interactions (HRIs) based on the PRISMA guidelines. A systematic literature search was conducted in October 2023 using the following databases: ProQuest, ScienceDirect, PubMed, IEEE, MDPI, and EBSCO. The following keywords were used: “personal space”, “social interaction”, “human” AND “robot”, and “human-robot”. The inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) studies involving HRIs, 2) studies using social robots, and 3) studies exploring personal space during HRI. The research was conducted on articles published between 2013 and 2023. The search yielded 329 articles, and 58 articles underwent a thorough full-text review. Of these, 32 studies did not meet the eligibility criteria, leaving 25 studies eligible for data extraction and analysis. Three themes were identified regarding the characteristics of personal space when humans interact with robots: 1) specific human-robot distances of each author, 2) factors influencing human responses during HRI, and 3) different human responses during HRI. The human-robot distance did not differ significantly from the human-human distance in this systematic review. As social beings, humans unconsciously reserve personal space. However, human-robot distance will continue to be studied due to the current low robot penetration and function. The social nature of robots in human society is underdeveloped. Nevertheless, people are confused by robots’ emotional expressions and react by distancing themselves from them. It has been suggested that humans move, talk, and find the robot or animal-like elements there, and unconsciously maintain a comfortable distance for themselves.
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