Knock on Wood : Does Material Choice Change the Social Perception of Robots?

Sammanfattning: This paper aims to understand whether there is a difference in how socially interactive robots are perceived based on the material they are constructed out of. Two studies to that end were performed; a pilot in a live setting and a main one online. Participants were asked to rate three versions of the same robot design, one built out of wood, one out of plastic, and one covered in fur. This was then used in two studies to ascertain the participants perception of competence, warmth, and discomfort and the differences between the three materials. Statistically significant differences were found between the materials regarding the perception of warmth and discomfort