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:

Prakash says, "Sometimes personal care can get pretty involved. Many participants said they would rather have an impersonal looking creature caring for their personal needs."


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