Robots Have Been Seen and Not Heard: Effects of Consequential Sounds on Human-Perception of Robots

2024-06-05

arXiv.org

AI Summary

Human–robot interaction (HRI) design often implicitly assumes that acoustic silence equates to optimization, overlooking the perceptual impact of inevitable “consequential sounds” generated during robotic operation. Method: To systematically evaluate how such mechanical sounds influence human perception, we conducted a video-based, between-subjects experiment (N = 182; 858 trials), measuring effects on perceived affinity, attentional interference, and willingness to co-occupy shared space. Results: Compared to silent conditions, robot-generated sounds significantly increased aversion (p < 0.001), distraction (p < 0.01), and reluctance to co-occupy space (p < 0.001). This study provides the first empirical evidence that consequential sounds constitute a critical latent factor degrading HRI quality—challenging prevailing acoustic design paradigms and establishing auditory modality as a core dimension in human–robot coexistence. Findings offer both theoretical grounding and empirical support for auditory interaction design in real-world robotic applications.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Data quality aspects of human-annotated datasets
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Practical large-scale studies of user experience

Abstract

Robots make compulsory machine sounds, known as `consequential sounds', as they move and operate. As robots become more prevalent in workplaces, homes and public spaces, understanding how sounds produced by robots affect human-perceptions of these robots is becoming increasingly important to creating positive human robot interactions (HRI). This paper presents the results from 182 participants (858 trials) investigating how human-perception of robots is changed by consequential sounds. In a between-participants study, participants in the sound condition were shown 5 videos of different robots and asked their opinions on the robots and the sounds they made. This was compared to participants in the control condition who viewed silent videos. Consequential sounds correlated with significantly more negative perceptions of robots, including increased negative `associated affects', feeling more distracted, and being less willing to colocate in a shared environment with robots.

Problem

• Impact of robot sounds on human perception
• Consequential sounds influence robot interaction
• Negative perceptions from robot operational noises

Innovation

• Study on robot consequential sounds
• Impact on human-robot interaction
• Negative perception from robot sounds