Robot Voices in Daily Life: Vocal Human-Likeness and Application Context as Determinants of User Acceptance

Sound effects have only minor contribution to perceptions of anthropomorphism and animacy of simple animated shapes

While studies of anthropomorphism have spanned many decades, there is little evidence of the role that sound effects may play. We present two studies into sound's influence on perceptions of anthropomorphism and animacy using simple geometric animated shapes. For the first study, conducted on 149 participants, we simplified the animation to just two "bumping" squares. Study Two recreated the Heider-Simmel study of 1944, and was conducted on 250 participants under five conditions: without sound, and with one of two different sound types (interface sounds and "anthropomorphic" robot sounds) with two stereo modes (fixed in stereo position, or binaurally panned with the movement). We had participants answer both the Individual Differences in Anthropomorphism Questionnaire and the Godspeed Questionnaire, with three additional questions added. Results showed that the sound had a minor impact on anthropomorphism and potency in Study One, but did not impact animacy. Study Two showed no significant effect on anthropomorphism or animacy, but did show an impact on perceived intelligence and perceptions of activity.

Inter- and intra-rater reliability of cognitive assessment conducted by assistive robot for older adults living in the community: a preliminary study

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to reveal inter- and intra-rater reliability of the detailed evaluation of cognitive function by assistive robot for older adults.

METHODS

We investigated the inter-rater and test-retest reliability. Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination was conducted twice for each participant using an assistive robot and the examiner respectively (Experiment 1). The order of these two tests was randomly selected and the interval between them was 1 week. In Experiment 2, we investigated the test-retest reliability of the first robot test and this additional robot test was conducted approximately 6 weeks after Experiment 1.

RESULTS

Fifty-one (13 men and 38 women, mean age: 80.5 ± 5.6 years) participants went through Experiment 1 and 29 of those (eight men and 21 women, mean age: 80.4 ± 4.8 years) completed Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, the interclass coefficient (ICC) in orientation was in the high range and its Cronbach's α was 0.919, rated as excellent internal consistency. On the other hand, other items did not show positive results. In Experiment 2, the ICCs in orientation, attention, and repetition were in the adequate range, while other items showed marginal or low range.

CONCLUSIONS

Orientation was supposed to be utilised for figuring out initial symptoms of dementia. In the future, as robot functions become more high-tech, a partner robot might be able to measure the symptoms and severity of dementia.

Can a human sing with an unseen artificial partner? Coordination dynamics when singing with an unseen human or artificial partner

This study investigated whether a singer's coordination patterns differ when singing with an unseen human partner versus an unseen artificial partner (VOCALOID 6 voice synthesis software). We used cross-correlation analysis to compare the correlation of the amplitude envelope time series between the partner's and the participant's singing voices. We also conducted a Granger causality test to determine whether the past amplitude envelope of the partner helps predict the future amplitude envelope of the participants, or if the reverse is true. We found more pronounced characteristics of anticipatory synchronization and increased similarity in the unfolding dynamics of the amplitude envelopes in the human-partner condition compared to the artificial-partner condition, despite the tempo fluctuations in the human-partner condition. The results suggested that subtle qualities of the human singing voice, possibly stemming from intrinsic dynamics of the human body, may contain information that enables human agents to align their singing behavior dynamics with a human partner.

First impressions of a financial AI assistant: differences between high trust and low trust users

Calibrating appropriate trust of non-expert users in artificial intelligence (AI) systems is a challenging yet crucial task. To align subjective levels of trust with the objective trustworthiness of a system, users need information about its strengths and weaknesses. The specific explanations that help individuals avoid over- or under-trust may vary depending on their initial perceptions of the system. In an online study, 127 participants watched a video of a financial AI assistant with varying degrees of decision agency. They generated 358 spontaneous text descriptions of the system and completed standard questionnaires from the Trust in Automation and Technology Acceptance literature (including perceived system competence, understandability, human-likeness, uncanniness, intention of developers, intention to use, and trust). Comparisons between a high trust and a low trust user group revealed significant differences in both open-ended and closed-ended answers. While high trust users characterized the AI assistant as more useful, competent, understandable, and humanlike, low trust users highlighted the system's uncanniness and potential dangers. Manipulating the AI assistant's agency had no influence on trust or intention to use. These findings are relevant for effective communication about AI and trust calibration of users who differ in their initial levels of trust.

Factors influencing consumers' willingness to accept service robots: Based on online reviews of Chinese hotels

The application of robots in service industry is increasing. Compared with related studies in other countries, the research on users' acceptance of mid-range and high-range hotel service robots in China is preliminary. Based on the interaction between Chinese consumers and hotel service robots, this study explored the factors that influence consumers' willingness to accept robots in human-robot interaction. According to the service robot integration willingness scale (performance efficacy, intrinsic motivation, anthropomorphism, social influence, facilitating conditions, and emotion), this study conducted content analysis and sentiment analysis on 4,107 online reviews from 68 mid-range and high-range hotels in Qunar. The results showed that users' overall evaluation of robot service in mid-range and high-range hotels is positive. The most frequently mentioned dimension by users is performance efficacy, followed by intrinsic motivation, anthropomorphism, and emotion, finally, the facilitating conditions, the five dimensions have positive impact on users' evaluation of service robots; the influence of social influence on human-robot interaction evaluation has not been found. This study supplements the research on service robot and provides a reference for hotel managers to make decisions.