Abstract
Autonomous robots, which are becoming more widespread in Japanese homes and workplaces, perform such diverse functions as cleaning, or security patrolling. As people need to accept and understand these robots with which they may be in contact for extended periods, we studied Kansei in relation to the movements of robots. We observed the behavior of the people who participated in “a simulated workplace with robots experiment.”We developed six small simple robots of similar appearance but exhibited different behaviors in terms of their approaches to people; the combination of three types of movement and two types of wagging of the stick on the back. Each robot was evaluated on autonomism, Kansei, and affectiveness, anthropomorphism, safety and durability. According to the last evaluation after the session in three successive days, we concluded that approaching a person was interpreted as “cleverness”and wagging a “tail”as “charm.”The wag alone did not promote attachment but alleviated the aggression of the autonomous robot.
