What’s in a face? The Effect of Faces in Human Robot Interaction

The face is the most influential feature in any interaction. This study investigated the effect of robot faces in embodied interactions on a range of subjective and objective factors. The platform used to answer the research question was an interactive robotic art installation, incorporating a robot arm that could be presented with or without a face displayed on an attached screen. Participants were exposed to one of three conditions – the robot arm only, the robot arm with a static face displayed, and the robot arm with a dynamic face displayed. We used the Godspeed Questionnaire to determine whether the different embodiments would be perceived differently on measures of likeability, animacy, and safety before and after the interaction. We also measured how close participants stood to the robot and how much time they spent interacting with the robot. We found that the three embodiments did not significantly differ in time spent, distance, animacy, likeability, or safety before and after the interaction. This surprising result hints at other possible reasons that influence the success of a robot interaction and advances the understanding of the effect of faces in human-robot interaction.