The Power of a Hand-shake in Human-Robot Interactions

Abstract

In this paper, we study the influence of a handshake in the human emotional bond to a robot. In particular, we evaluate the human willingness to help a robot whether the robot first introduces itself to the human with or without a handshake. In the tested paradigm the robot and the human have to perform a joint task, but at a certain stage, the robot needs help to navigate through an obstacle. Without requesting explicit help from the human, the robot performs some attempts to navigate through the obstacle, suggesting to the human that it requires help. In a study with 45 participants, we measure the human's perceptions of the social robot Vizzy, comparing the handshake vs non-handshake conditions. In addition, we evaluate the influence of a handshake in the pro-social behaviour of helping it and the willingness to help it in the future. The results show that a handshake increases the perception of Warmth, Animacy, Likeability, and the tendency to help the robot more, by removing the obstacle.