Study Asked Participants What Type of Robot Face They Prefer
Posted on October 1, 2013
A new study from Georgia Institute of Technology asked people what they would want a robot assistant to look like. Participants in the study were shown pictures of potential robot faces, which included human faces, mixed human-robot faces and robot faces.
The study found that nearly 60% of older adults want a robot with a human face. Most college-aged adults wanted a robot face, although they were not opposed to human or human-robot faces. The researchers say participants wavered slightly depending on the jobs the robot would be performing.
Akanksha Prakash, a School of Psychology graduate student who led the study, said in a statement, "We found that participants, both younger and older, will assign emotional traits to a robot based on its face, which will determine what they are most comfortable interacting with. As a result, preferences for robotic appearance varied across tasks."
Here are some of the findings:
- Most college-aged adults wanted a robot with a robot face.
- Most older adults tend to want a robot with a human face.
- Preferences were less strong for a robot helping with chores. The majority of older and younger participants chose a robot with a robotic face.
- For decision-making tasks, such as getting financial advice from a robot, younger participants tended to select a mixed human-robot appearance. Older adults wanted a human face.
- Personal care task, such as bathing, evoked the most divisive preference. The researchers found that people who chose a human face did so because they associated the robot with human-like care capabilities - such as nursing - and trustworthy traits. Many others did not want anything that looked like a human bathing them.
- In the final category, assistance with social tasks, both age groups preferred a human face for the robot.