We advance the understanding of robotic intervention in high-risk scenarios by examining their potential to distract and impede a school shooter. To evaluate this concept, we conducted a virtual reality study with 150 university participants role-playing as a school shooter. Within the simulation, an autonomous robot predicted the shooter's movements and positioned itself strategically to interfere and distract. The strategy the robot used to approach the shooter was manipulated -- either moving directly in front of the shooter (aggressive) or maintaining distance (passive) -- and the distraction method, ranging from no additional cues (low), to siren and lights (medium), to siren, lights, and smoke to impair visibility (high). An aggressive, high-distraction robot reduced the number of victims by 46.6% relative to a no-robot control. This outcome underscores both the potential of robotic intervention to enhance safety and the pressing ethical questions surrounding their use in school environments.

翻译：本研究通过考察机器人分散和阻碍校园枪手注意力的潜在能力，深化了对高风险场景中机器人干预机制的理解。为评估这一概念，我们开展了一项虚拟现实研究，招募150名大学生参与者扮演校园枪手角色。在模拟环境中，自主机器人通过预测枪手运动轨迹，采取战略性定位进行干扰和阻碍。研究对机器人接近枪手的策略进行了操控——包括直接移动至枪手正前方（主动干预）和保持距离（被动干预）两种模式，同时设置了从无附加提示（低强度）、警报与灯光提示（中强度）到警报、灯光及烟雾遮蔽视线（高强度）的分级干扰方案。实验数据显示，相较于无机器人干预的对照组，采用主动干预策略与高强度干扰方案的机器人使受害者数量减少了46.6%。这一结果既揭示了机器人干预提升安全性的潜力，也凸显了其在校园环境中应用所引发的紧迫伦理问题。