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Many people see robots as having benefits and applications in healthcare but some have concerns. Individual attitudes and emotions regarding robots in general are likely to influence future acceptance of their introduction into healthcare processes.

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Human voice accents have been shown to affect people's perceptions of the speaker, but little research has looked at how synthesized voice accents affect perceptions of robots. This research investigated people's perceptions of three synthesized voice accents. Three male robot voices were generated: British (UK), American (US), and New Zealand (NZ). In study one, twenty adults listened through headphones to a recorded script repeated in the three different accents, rated the nationality, roboticness, and overall impression of each voice, and chose their preferred accent. Study two used these voices on a healthcare robot to investigate the influence of accent on user perceptions of the robot. Ninety-one individuals were randomized to one of three conditions. In each condition they interacted with a healthcare robot that assisted with blood pressure measurement but the conditions differed in the accent the robot spoke with. In study one, each accent was correctly identified. There was no difference in impression ratings of each voice, but the US accent was rated as more robotic than the NZ accent, and the UK accent was preferred to the US accent. Study two showed that people randomized to the NZ accent had more positive feelings towards the robot and rated the robot's overall performance as higher compared to the robot with the US voice. These results suggest that the employment of a less robotic voice with a local accent may positively affect user perceptions of robots.

Abstract-This paper presents the first version of a mobile service robot designed for older people. Six service application modules were developed with the key objective being successful interaction between the robot and the older people. A series of trials were conducted in an independent living facility at a retirement village, with the participation of 32 residents and 21 staff. In this paper, challenges of deploying the robot and lessons learned are discussed. Results show that the robot could successfully interact with people and gain their acceptance.

Robots are often portrayed in the media as humanlike, yet research suggests that people prefer to interact with robots that are not human-like. This study aimed to investigate whether people's mental schemas about robots' humanness were associated with their reactions to a robot. It was hypothesised that people who thought of robots as more human-like would be more anxious when subsequently interacting with a robot. Fifty-seven participants aged over 40 years were asked to draw their idea of a healthcare robot using standardised instructions before seeing the real robot. They reported their emotions at baseline and a medical student measured their blood pressure. The drawings were categorised as human-like or box-like by the researchers and drawing size was measured. Participants were then introduced to a robot that measured their blood pressure, and they reported their emotions during the interaction. Participants who had drawn a human-like robot had significantly greater increases in blood pressure readings and negative emotions from baseline in reaction to the robot compared to those who had drawn a box-like robot. Larger drawings of healthcare robots predicted higher ratings of negative emotions during the robot interaction. This study suggests that people who have mental schemas that robots are human-like experience heightened wariness in interactions with robots. Larger drawings of robots may indicate greater anxiety towards them. Assessing mental schemas of robot human-likeness is an important consideration for the acceptance of social robots. Standardised drawing instructions and scoring are a useful method to assess cognitions and emotions towards robots.