Making Appearances: How Robots Should Approach People

Our behavior is governed by social norms. Robots are currently a novelty to encounter. In order to prepare for a future in which robots are more commonplace, it is important to know what robot behaviors people find socially normative. Previous work suggests that for robots to be accepted by people, the robot should adhere to the prevalent social norms, such as those related to approaching people. We do not expect that socially normative approach behaviors for robots can be translated on a 1-on-1 basis from people to robots because currently robots have unique and different features to humans, including wheels, sounds, and shapes. The two studies presented in this article go beyond the state-of-the-art and focus on socially normative approach behaviors for robots. In the first study we compared responses to violations of personal space by robots compared with people. In the second study we compared features (sound, size, speed) of a robot approaching people and the effect on acceptance. Findings indicate that people are more lenient towards violations of a social norm by a robot as compared to a person, and that robots can use their unique features to mitigate the negative effects of norm violations by communicating intent.