As the presence of autonomous robots in public spaces increases-whether navigating campus walkways or neighborhood sidewalks-understanding how to carefully study these robots becomes critical. While HRI research has conducted field studies in public spaces, these are often limited to controlled experiments with prototype robots or structured observational methods, such as the Wizard of Oz technique. However, the autonomous mobile robots we encounter today, particularly delivery robots, operate beyond the control of researchers, navigating dynamic routes and unpredictable environments. To address this challenge, a more deliberate approach is required. Drawing inspiration from public realm ethnography in urban studies, geography, and sociology, this paper proposes the Walk-Along with Robots (WawR) methodology. We outline the key features of this method, the steps we applied in our study, the unique insights it offers, and the ways it can be evaluated. We hope this paper stimulates further discussion on research methodologies for studying autonomous robots in public spaces.

翻译：随着自主机器人在公共空间中的存在日益增加——无论是在校园步道还是社区人行道上穿行——理解如何细致研究这些机器人变得至关重要。尽管人机交互研究已在公共空间开展实地研究，但这些研究通常局限于使用原型机器人进行受控实验或采用结构化观察方法，如“绿野仙踪”技术。然而，我们今天遇到的自主移动机器人，特别是配送机器人，其运行已超出研究者的控制范围，它们穿行于动态路线和不可预测的环境中。为应对这一挑战，需要一种更为审慎的研究方法。本文借鉴城市研究、地理学和社会学中公共领域民族志的灵感，提出了“与机器人同行”方法论。我们概述了该方法的核心特征、研究实施步骤、其提供的独特见解以及评估方式。我们希望本文能进一步推动关于公共空间自主机器人研究方法的讨论。