Zoo Visitors’ Initial Assessment of an Animaloid Robot as a Zoo Exhibit

Abstract

Animaloid robots currently have few to no applications other than as a toy in private contexts or as an operational tool in rescue scenarios. A potential further field of use could be zoos, e.g. to offer an additional attraction, to substitute sick animals, to replace already extinct species or to fulfill a certain educational mission. In order to investigate such purposes an animaloid walking robot was exhibited unannounced in an enclosure of a city’s large zoo. Interviews with visitors were conducted in order to answer two research questions: Is an animaloid robot suitable as a zoo exhibit from the visitors’ point of view? How do the visitors to a zoo perceive and judge an animaloid robot? The evaluation showed that according to the visitors, the robot, although not perceived as an animal, is considered just as much an attraction and equally suitable as an object of observation in a zoo.