  The use of social robots as instruments for social mediation has been gaining
traction in the field of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). So far, the design of
such robots and their behaviors is often driven by technological platforms and
experimental setups in controlled laboratory environments. To address complex
social relationships in the real world, it is crucial to consider the actual
needs and consequences of the situations found therein. This includes
understanding when a mediator is necessary, what specific role such a robot
could play, and how it moderates human social dynamics. In this paper, we
discuss six relevant roles for robotic mediators that we identified by
investigating a collection of videos showing realistic group situations. We
further discuss mediation behaviors and target measures to evaluate the success
of such interventions. We hope that our findings can inspire future research on
robot-assisted social mediation by highlighting a wider set of mediation
applications than those found in prior studies. Specifically, we aim to inform
the categorization and selection of interaction scenarios that reflect real
situations, where a mediation robot can have a positive and meaningful impact
on group dynamics.
