Abstract
Humanoid robots (i.e., robots with a human-like body) are projected to be mass marketed in the future in several fields of application. Today, however, user evaluations of humanoid robots are often based on mediated depictions rather than actual observations or interactions with a robot, which holds true not least for scientific user studies. People can be confronted with robots in various modes of presentation, among them (1) 2D videos, (2) 3D, i.e., stereoscopic videos, (3) immersive Virtual Reality (VR), or (4) live on site. A systematic investigation into how such differential modes of presentation influence user perceptions of a robot is still lacking. Thus, the current study systematically compares the effects of different presentation modes with varying immersive potential on user evaluations of a humanoid service robot. Participants (N = 120) observed an interaction between a humanoid service robot and an actor either on 2D or 3D video, via a virtual reality headset (VR) or live. We found support for the expected effect of the presentation mode on perceived immediacy. Effects regarding the degree of human likeness that was attributed to the robot were mixed. The presentation mode had no influence on evaluations in terms of eeriness, likability, and purchase intentions. Implications for empirical research on humanoid robots and practice are discussed.
Highlights
Among the technological achievements of the modern era, the development and advancement of robots certainly ranks among the most impressive feats
The aim of the present study is to compare the responses of users observing the interaction between a person and a humanoid robot presented in real-life to mediated presentation modes of varying immersive potential (VR, 3D, 2D)
A recent Eurobarometer study (European Commission, 2017) revealed that 85% of EU citizens never have used a robot, neither at home nor at work. Though, when it comes to online videos, TV news, science fiction movies or computer games, where actual robots or fictional robotic characters appear all the more frequently
Summary
Among the technological achievements of the modern era, the development and advancement of robots certainly ranks among the most impressive feats. Humanoid robots are forecasted to become more and more popular in non-industrial contexts. Potential areas of application range from hospitals and nursing homes to hotels and users’ households. Many people are skeptical about the idea of sharing human life with robots (e.g., Sciutti et al, 2018; Gnambs and Appel, 2019), especially so when it comes to machines of highly humanlike appearance (Mori, 1970; Ho and MacDorman, 2010; Mori et al, 2012). Few people have seen or interacted with a humanoid robot in real life.
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