Evaluation of Non-Verbal Communication on Relationships between Human and Ethologically Inspired Social Robots

Abstract

Social behavior of robots plays a vital role in improving human-robot interaction. In the previous study, we created a behavioral model of the social robot inspired by the attachment behavior of dogs. This robot uses the vocalization, a non-verbal communication, to build relationships with human. In last year's study, the results of some experiments revealed the usefulness of the vocalization and some functional issues. Based on these results, we improved the vocalization mechanism and the robotic platform. In this paper, we describe the results of an experiment on the effects on the relationship with the social robot from the human perspective obtained through communication with this robot.