The Effects of the Physical Contact in the Functional Intimate Distance on User's Acceptance toward Robots

Abstract

We investigated the effects of physical contact of robots on the user's acceptance in the functional intimate distance. We conducted a two (robot interaction types: interaction with physical contact vs. interaction with a tool) within-participants experiment (N=18). This study was a video-based observation study. According to the experimental results, the evaluation of participants on the empathy and sociability of the robot was not affected by physical contact in the functional intimate zone. On the other hand, the participants felt secure and perceived that the robot was knowledgeable when the robot measured the patient's temperature with a thermometer instead of its hand. © 2018 Authors.