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This paper describes two field tests conducted with shopping mall visitors and with aged persons defined as in their 70s to 90s. For both of the field tests, we used an android we developed called Telenoid R1 or just Telenoid. In the following field tests we interviewed participants about their impressions of the Telenoid. The results of the shopping mall showed that almost half of the interviewees felt negative toward Telenoid until they hugged it, after which opinions became positive. Results of the other test showed that the majority of aged persons reported a positive opinion and, interestingly, all aged persons who interacted with Telenoid gave it a hug without any suggestion to do so. This suggests that older persons find Telenoid to be acceptable medium for the elderly. Younger persons may also find Telenoid acceptable, seeing that visitors developed positive feelings toward the robot after giving it a hug. These results should prove valuable in our future work with androids.
Ogawa et al. (Wed,) studied this question.