title: Persistence of the uncanny valley: the influence of repeated interactions and a robot's attitude on its perception.
abstract: The uncanny valley theory proposed by Mori has been heavily investigated in the recent years by researchers from various fields. However, the videos and images used in these studies did not permit any human interaction with the uncanny objects. Therefore, in the field of human-robot interaction it is still unclear what, if any, impact an uncanny-looking robot will have in the context of an interaction. In this paper we describe an exploratory empirical study using a live interaction paradigm that involved repeated interactions with robots that differed in embodiment and their attitude toward a human. We found that both investigated components of the uncanniness (likeability and eeriness) can be affected by an interaction with a robot. Likeability of a robot was mainly affected by its attitude and this effect was especially prominent for a machine-like robot. On the other hand, merely repeating interactions was sufficient to reduce eeriness irrespective of a robot's embodiment. As a result we urge other researchers to investigate Mori's theory in studies that involve actual human-robot interaction in order to fully understand the changing nature of this phenomenon.
authors.affiliation: Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand, University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand ; Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Jakub A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Złotowski
authors.affiliation: Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidenobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sumioka
authors.affiliation: Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishio
authors.affiliation: Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Dylan F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Glas
authors.affiliation: Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand, University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bartneck
authors.affiliation: Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International Kyoto, Japan ; Department of System Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
keywords: anthropomorphism; dehumanization; eeriness; human-robot interaction; likeability; multiple-interactions; uncanny valley