Lehmann Hagen, Saez-Pons Joan, Syrdal Dag Sverre, Dautenhahn Kerstin
School of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2015 May 22;10(5):e0127747. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127747. eCollection 2015.
Recent technological developments like cheap sensors and the decreasing costs of computational power have brought the possibility of robotic home companions within reach. In order to be accepted it is vital for these robots to be able to participate meaningfully in social interactions with their users and to make them feel comfortable during these interactions. In this study we investigated how people respond to a situation where a companion robot is watching its user. Specifically, we tested the effect of robotic behaviours that are synchronised with the actions of a human. We evaluated the effects of these behaviours on the robot's likeability and perceived intelligence using an online video survey. The robot used was Care-O-bot3, a non-anthropomorphic robot with a limited range of expressive motions. We found that even minimal, positively synchronised movements during an object-oriented task were interpreted by participants as engagement and created a positive disposition towards the robot. However, even negatively synchronised movements of the robot led to more positive perceptions of the robot, as compared to a robot that does not move at all. The results emphasise a) the powerful role that robot movements in general can have on participants' perception of the robot, and b) that synchronisation of body movements can be a powerful means to enhance the positive attitude towards a non-anthropomorphic robot.
近期诸如廉价传感器和计算能力成本不断降低等技术发展，使得家用陪伴机器人成为可能。为了被人们接受，这些机器人能够有意义地参与与用户的社交互动并让用户在互动过程中感到舒适至关重要。在本研究中，我们调查了人们对陪伴机器人注视其用户这一情况的反应。具体而言，我们测试了与人类动作同步的机器人行为的效果。我们使用在线视频调查评估了这些行为对机器人的受欢迎程度和感知智能的影响。所使用的机器人是Care-O-bot3，这是一个具有有限表达动作范围的非拟人机器人。我们发现，即使在面向对象任务中最小程度的积极同步动作，也会被参与者理解为参与，并产生对机器人的积极倾向。然而，与完全不移动的机器人相比，即使机器人的消极同步动作也会导致对机器人更积极的看法。结果强调了：a）一般来说机器人动作对参与者对机器人的认知可能具有的强大作用；b）身体动作同步可以成为增强对非拟人机器人积极态度的有力手段。
