Acceptance and use of a zoomorphic robot in a domestic setting

The study presented in this article aims to improve our understanding of how people use zoomorphic robots in domestic environments in general and, in particular, whether people are able to build (longterm) relationships with these robots. The influences of social and hedonic factors were studied, in addition to the utilitarian factors of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Three participants interacted with the Nabaztag, a zoomorphic robot, for 10 days in their own home environment. No evidence was found that hedonic factors were important for the acceptance of the Nabaztag. However, hedonic factors did seem to be important for building a relationship with the Nabaztag. Social factors did seem to be important for the acceptance of robots, but they did not seem to be important for building a relationship with the Nabaztag. Last, the results showed a relationship between naming the Nabaztag and building a relationship with it.

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