Robots' Auditory Cues are Subject to Anthropomorphism

Abstract

Research shows that human responses to robots are largely dependent on the robot's physical attributes. The present study investigates whether robots' auditory cues are interpreted differently depending on the degree to which they are anthropomorphic in nature. Participants viewed a robot that responded with human speech, synthesized “robotic speech,” or sounds only. The most commands were given to the robot when its “voice” was synthetic. Humans are sensitive to auditory cues given by robots.