Social RoboticsPlaying a game with Cozmo makes people see it as more humanlike
University of East Anglia experiments linked perceived independence to humanlike judgements.
More than 100 participants interacted with the small Cozmo robot, with half first playing a social game and half using it mechanically. Only those who played the game rated Cozmo as more humanlike and showed the same timing biases people show towards actions caused by other humans. The study, in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, suggests that seeing a robot as acting on its own changes how people perceive it. The authors say social engagement could help acceptance of robots in care and customer service roles.
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