Subgroup Formation in Teams Working with Robots

Teams are increasingly adopting robots to accomplish their work. Despite this, more research is needed to understand what makes these teams effective. One such topic not fully explored is the formation of subgroups in teams that work with robots. We conducted a pilot study to explore this topic. The study examined 15 teams of 2 people, each team member working with a robot to accomplish a team task. Results of the pilot study showed that subgroups formed between humans and their robots were negatively correlated with various team outcomes. Although our results are preliminary, we believe our findings can initiate future research on the topic of subgroup formation in teams working with robots.