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Abstract. Previous research has shown that gender-related stereotypes are even applied to robots. In HRI, a robot's appearance, for instance, visual facial gender cues such as hairstyle of a robot have successfully been used to elicit gender-stereotypical judgments about male and female prototypes, respectively. To complement the set of features to visually indicate a robot's gender, we explored the impact of waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and shoulder width (SW) in robot prototypes. Specifically, we investigated the effect of male vs. female appearance on perceived robot gender, the attribution of gender stereotypical traits, the robots' suitability for stereotypical tasks, and participants' trust toward the robots. Our results have demonstrated that the manipulation of WHR and SW correctly elicited gendered perceptions of the two prototypes. However, the perception of male robot gender did not affect the attribution of agentic traits and cognitive trust. Nevertheless, participants tended to rate the male robot as more suitable for stereotypically male tasks. In line with our predictions, participants preferred to use the female robot shape for stereotypically female tasks. They tended to attribute more communal traits and showed more affective trust toward the robot that was designed with a female torso versus a male robot torso. These results demonstrate that robot body shape activates stereotypes toward robots. These in turn, deeply impact people's attitudes and trust toward robots which determine people's motivation to engage in HRI.

In the present study, we compared Japanese and German participants' perceptions of social robots. To do so, participants from both cultural backgrounds evaluated two types of service robots designed for use in the smart home context. One of the prototypes featured a rather technical appearance, whereas the other prototype featured a newly designed social robot head. Against our predictions, Japanese and German participants evaluated both robot types similarly. Japanese participants generally showed a stronger tendency to anthropomorphize nonhuman agents and attributed more mind, particularly on the experience dimension, to both robot types than German participants. Nonetheless, Japanese and German participants attributed similar levels of agency to both robot types. Unexpectedly, Japanese participants perceived the robots even as less humanlike than German participants. As predicted, Japanese participants reported less attitudinal robot acceptance and tended to show less trust toward both robot types than Germans. Japanese and Germans indicated similar levels of robot anxiety, perceived uncanniness, and robot likeability. Japanese and German participants generally perceived the robots rather as machines and tools than as human companions. Especially German participants wanted to use the robots for rather safe, boring, and simple tasks that do not require any direct interaction with them. Japanese and German participants were not yet familiar with robots and showed less positive attitudes toward them than widely believed (e.g., [1]). Implications how to gain a more realistic view on users' perceptions of robots to enable a fruitful and comfortable HRI are discussed. *This research was supported by the Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology 'CITEC' (EXC 277) at Bielefeld University, which is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It is further related to the European Project CODEFROR (FP7-PIRSES-2013-612555). might perceive robots differently: Shinto and Buddhism are prevalent religions in Japan, while German culture is influenced by Christianity. A Shinto legend holds that Japanese islands were formed by two gods who became progenitors of the gods of Shinto religion and of the first Emperor of Japan [3]. This belief resulted in a deep respect for nature, animals, gods, and heroes. Further, Japanese people believe that a soul, humanlike traits, and intentions are inherent in any entity, such as in gods, heroes, animals, and nature. This is also reflected in Japanese popular culture in which various kinds of nonhuman agents, including robots, are presented as having humanlike traits [4]. According to [5], anthropomorphism, the tendency to ascribe human traits to nonhuman agents, helps to understand others' behavior and thus might reduce uncertainty. Accordingly, one might assume that the tendency to anthropomorphize nonhuman agents and the prevalence of robots in Japanese popular culture is linked to more positive evaluations of HRI and less anxiety toward robots than in Western countries. H...

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Abstract. The purpose of this Wizard-of-Oz study was to explore the intuitive verbal and non-verbal goal-directed behavior of naïve participants in an intelligent robotics apartment. Participants had to complete seven mundane tasks, for instance, they were asked to turn on the light. Participants were explicitly instructed to consider nonstandard ways of completing the respective tasks. A multi-method approach revealed that most participants favored speech and interfaces like switches and screens to communicate with the intelligent robotics apartment. However, they required instructions to use the interfaces in order to perceive them as competent targets for human-machine interaction. Hence, first important steps were taken to investigate how to design an intelligent robotics apartment in a user-centered and user-friendly manner.Keywords: Social robot • smart home • human-robot interaction • use-case scenario • usability • intuitive design • user-centered design.

Previous research has shown that user features like affect, personality traits, user gender, technology commitment, perceived ease of technology use, and the feeling of being observed impact human-technology interaction (e.g., [1], [2]). To date, most studies have focused on the influence of user characteristics while interacting with single technical devices such as smart phones, audio players (e.g., [3]), or computers (e.g., [1]). To extend this work, we investigated the influence of individual user characteristics, the perceived ease of task completion, and the feeling of being observed on human-technology interaction and human-robot interaction (HRI) in particular. We explored how participants would solve seven tasks within a smart laboratory apartment. To do so, we collected video data and complemented this analysis with survey data to investigate naïve users' attitudes towards the smart home and the robot. User characteristics such as agreeableness, low negative affect, technology acceptance, low perceived competence regarding technology use, and the perceived ease of task were predictors of positive user experiences within the intelligent robotics apartment. Regression analyses revealed that a positive evaluation of the robot was predicted by positive affect and, to a lesser extent, by technology acceptance. Actual interactions with the robot were predicted by a positive evaluation of the robot and, to a lesser degree, by technology acceptance. Moreover, our findings show that user characteristics and, by tendency, the ease of task impact HRI within an intelligent apartment. Implications for future research on how to investigate the interplay of user and further task characteristics to improve HRI are discussed.

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