Effects of Gaze and Speech in Human-Robot Medical Interactions.

Especially in medical interactions with robots, estimating people's level of trust is critical. The first human clinical trials with a blood sampling robot have shown promising benefits for both patients and healthcare workers, as a robot provides higher accuracy and quick results. An automated solution for blood drawing is therefore preferable, but it is unclear under what circumstances people would be willing to use a blood sampling robot. This study therefore investigates people's perception of such a robot, and whether speech and gaze have a positive effect on their willingness to interact with the robot. A survey was conducted that shows that the perception of the blood sampling robot was more positive if the robot provided transparency through speech, and that the perception of the robot was more negative if the robot only displayed eye-gaze (without speech). The results also suggest that there generally is a positive attitude towards, and willingness to use a blood sampling robot, at least in the population investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]