Most people prefer humanlike robots: New Zealand study

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Most people prefer humanlike robots: New Zealand study

(Xinhua) 18:07, August 29, 2013

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Most people want their robots to look like other people, New Zealand researchers announced Thursday.

A study by the University of Auckland found 60 percent of people prefer robots with humanlike skin-colored 3D virtual face, compared with 30 percent who prefer no face display and 10 percent who like silver-colored simplified human features.

The study would help developers of "socially assistive" robots for healthcare, such as helpers for the elderly and machines that carry out tasks such as monitoring blood pressure, said the researchers.

"It's important for robot designers to know how to make robots that interact effectively with humans, so that people feel comfortable interacting with the robots," study leader, Dr. Elizabeth Broadbent of the Department of Psychological Medicine, said in a statement.

"One key dimension is robot appearance and how humanlike the robot should be."

The study tested how appearance affected people's perceptions of the robot's personality and mind, while it measured their blood pressure.

People felt more uneasy when interacting with a robot if they perceived the robot to be "unsociable and unfriendly."

"These results suggest that the more humanlike a healthcare robot's face display is, the more people attribute mind and positive personality characteristics to it," said Broadbent.

（Editor：DuMingming、Liang Jun）