Human-Robot Conflict Resolution at an Elevator - The Effect of Robot Type, Request Politeness and Modality

Human-robot conflicts might occur in the future, for instance, if a robot requests a public resource (e.g., an elevator). It needs to be investigated how the robot's request can be designed acceptably and effectively regarding the robot type, modality, and politeness. In this interactive video-based online study (N = 390), a robot requested priority over an elevator either using a polite or an assertive conflict resolution strategy presented via speech or on the robot's display. The robot was either humanlike, zoomorphic, or mechanoid. The mechanoid robot achieved more compliance than the humanoid robot if it used a verbal command. When the humanoid robot displayed the command instead of using its voice, more participants granted the robot priority. This might indicate that politeness norms are triggered more by a humanoid design and that if a robot makes a command, the modality should match the robot type.