ACM TechNews

Choice of Robot Companion Depends on Personality Type

University of Hertfordshire (02/27/08)

University of Hertfordshire researchers say that people with more extroverted personalities prefer to be in the company of more humanoid robots, while introverts like to be around mechanical-looking robots. Hertfordshire's School of Computer Science brought a robot to a nearby house last year to observe how humans respond to it. "Our research allowed us to identify two broad demographics of people who have preferences," says Dr. Mick Walters, who conducted his Ph.D. project on human and robot interaction. "It seems that there are those who prefer an unobtrusive robot and then others who want a cheerier presence." Professor Kerstin Dautenhahn, who headed the team, says the researchers also sought feedback from people as it developed the People Bots. KASPAR, a humanoid robot child, will be on display at the Hertfordshire Science and Technology Research Institute Showcase.

http://perseus.herts.ac.uk/uhinfo/extrel/press-office/prm/2008/february/
pr-27-02-08-hm.cfm

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