Führen emotional programmierte Serviceroboter zu einem Mehrwert in Messegesprächen? Ergebnisse einer experimentellen Untersuchung unter Einsatz des sozialen Roboters Furhat

After the Corona pandemic, trade fair events have regained their former strength as physical interaction platforms for the professional public. Digitalization is expanding the offerings at trade fairs to include virtual reality, augmented reality, robotics and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). When programming trade fair robots with the support of AI, the question arises as to how emotional the human-robot interaction should be. From research into robotics in the care sector, for example, it is known that emotionally programmed robots bring additional benefits for users. But does this also apply to a trade fair conversation in which the emotional-human component is intended to promote trust? The following research question was investigated: “To what extent do emotions as part of the non-verbal interaction in the context of human-robot interaction influence the acceptance of social robots in trade fair conversations?” A laboratory experiment was carried out to answer the research question. An emotionally and a factually programmed version of the Furhat robot was designed, with which test subjects interacted during a trade fair conversation. After evaluating the results, there were hardly any significant differences in the acceptance between the emotional and the factual robot versions. Possible investments in emotional programming elements of robots used at trade fairs should be questioned in light of these results.