Walking in the Uncanny Valley: Importance of the Attractiveness on the Acceptance of a Robot as a Working Partner
The Uncanny valley theory, which tells us that almost-human characteristics in a robot or a device could cause uneasiness in human observers, is an important research theme in the Human Robot Interaction (HRI) field. Yet, that phenomenon is still not well understood. Many have investigated the exter...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2015-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00204/full |
| _version_ | 1818308674686287872 |
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| author | Matthieu eDestephe Martim eBrandao Tatsuhiro eKishi Massimiliano eZecca Kenji eHashimoto Atsuo eTakanishi Atsuo eTakanishi |
| author_facet | Matthieu eDestephe Martim eBrandao Tatsuhiro eKishi Massimiliano eZecca Kenji eHashimoto Atsuo eTakanishi Atsuo eTakanishi |
| author_sort | Matthieu eDestephe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Uncanny valley theory, which tells us that almost-human characteristics in a robot or a device could cause uneasiness in human observers, is an important research theme in the Human Robot Interaction (HRI) field. Yet, that phenomenon is still not well understood. Many have investigated the external design of humanoid robot faces and bodies but only a few studies focused on the influence of robot movements on our perception and feelings of the Uncanny valley. Moreover, no research investigated the possible relation between our uneasiness feeling and whether we would accept or not robots having a job in an office, a hospital or elsewhere. To better understand the Uncanny valley, we explore several factors which might have an influence on our perception of robots, be it related to the subjects such as culture, attitude towards robots or related to the robot such as emotions and emotional intensity displayed in its motion. We asked 69 subjects (N = 69) to rate the motions of a humanoid robot (Perceived Humanity, Eeriness and Attractiveness) and state where they would rather see the robot performing a task. Our results suggest that, among the factors we chose to test, the attitude towards robots is the main influence on the perception of the robot related to the Uncanny valley. Regarding the robot occupation acceptability, only the Attractiveness has an effect on it, mitigating any Uncanny valley effect. We discuss the implications of those findings for the Uncanny valley and the acceptability of a robotic worker in our society. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T07:18:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b544f1b369f64bc38801a327830b91a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T07:18:02Z |
| publishDate | 2015-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b544f1b369f64bc38801a327830b91a72022-12-21T23:55:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782015-02-01610.3389/fpsyg.2015.00204104983Walking in the Uncanny Valley: Importance of the Attractiveness on the Acceptance of a Robot as a Working PartnerMatthieu eDestephe0Martim eBrandao1Tatsuhiro eKishi2Massimiliano eZecca3Kenji eHashimoto4Atsuo eTakanishi5Atsuo eTakanishi6Waseda UniversityWaseda UniversityWaseda UniversityLoughborough UniversityWaseda UniversityWaseda UniversityHumanoid Research InstituteThe Uncanny valley theory, which tells us that almost-human characteristics in a robot or a device could cause uneasiness in human observers, is an important research theme in the Human Robot Interaction (HRI) field. Yet, that phenomenon is still not well understood. Many have investigated the external design of humanoid robot faces and bodies but only a few studies focused on the influence of robot movements on our perception and feelings of the Uncanny valley. Moreover, no research investigated the possible relation between our uneasiness feeling and whether we would accept or not robots having a job in an office, a hospital or elsewhere. To better understand the Uncanny valley, we explore several factors which might have an influence on our perception of robots, be it related to the subjects such as culture, attitude towards robots or related to the robot such as emotions and emotional intensity displayed in its motion. We asked 69 subjects (N = 69) to rate the motions of a humanoid robot (Perceived Humanity, Eeriness and Attractiveness) and state where they would rather see the robot performing a task. Our results suggest that, among the factors we chose to test, the attitude towards robots is the main influence on the perception of the robot related to the Uncanny valley. Regarding the robot occupation acceptability, only the Attractiveness has an effect on it, mitigating any Uncanny valley effect. We discuss the implications of those findings for the Uncanny valley and the acceptability of a robotic worker in our society.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00204/fullemotionhumanoid robotuncanny valleycross-cultural studyrobot acceptability |
| spellingShingle | Matthieu eDestephe Martim eBrandao Tatsuhiro eKishi Massimiliano eZecca Kenji eHashimoto Atsuo eTakanishi Atsuo eTakanishi Walking in the Uncanny Valley: Importance of the Attractiveness on the Acceptance of a Robot as a Working Partner Frontiers in Psychology emotion humanoid robot uncanny valley cross-cultural study robot acceptability |
| title | Walking in the Uncanny Valley: Importance of the Attractiveness on the Acceptance of a Robot as a Working Partner |
| title_full | Walking in the Uncanny Valley: Importance of the Attractiveness on the Acceptance of a Robot as a Working Partner |
| title_fullStr | Walking in the Uncanny Valley: Importance of the Attractiveness on the Acceptance of a Robot as a Working Partner |
| title_full_unstemmed | Walking in the Uncanny Valley: Importance of the Attractiveness on the Acceptance of a Robot as a Working Partner |
| title_short | Walking in the Uncanny Valley: Importance of the Attractiveness on the Acceptance of a Robot as a Working Partner |
| title_sort | walking in the uncanny valley importance of the attractiveness on the acceptance of a robot as a working partner |
| topic | emotion humanoid robot uncanny valley cross-cultural study robot acceptability |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00204/full |
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