How to Decrease Negative Impressions towards Multiple Social Robots: A Preliminary Investigation

Recently, research using multiple social robots has been actively conducted for advanced communication. Using multiple social robots has a positive effect of enhancing their influence. However, interacting with multiple robots may impose a cognitive load on people, potentially yielding negative impressions towards the social robots and adversely affecting human-robot interaction. In this study, we sought to decrease negative impressions in a scenario where participants could perceive the robot as a friend or family member. Specifically, we conducted a preliminary experiment using multiple robots, where a group of friends and family members participated, and investigated impressions towards multiple robots. The finding in this study revealed that approximately 70% of the participants had no negative impressions and more than 80% of the participants felt that 10 social robots had the most enhanced influence. This study provided interesting perspectives for the design of interactions aimed at enhancing the influence of multiple robots.