The Uncanny in the Wild. Analysis of Unscripted Human-Android Interaction in the Field

Against the background of the uncanny valley hypothesis we investigated how people react towards an android robot in a natural environment dependent on the behavior displayed by the robot (still vs. moving) in a quasiexperimental observational field study. We present data on unscripted interactions between humans and the android robot “Geminoid HI-1” in an Austrian public café and subsequent interviews. Data were analyzed with regard to the participants’ nonverbal behavior (e.g. attention paid to the robot, proximity). We found that participants’ behavior towards the android robot as well as their interview answers were influenced by the behavior the robot displayed. In addition, we found huge inter-individual differences in the participants’ behavior. Implications for the uncanny valley and research on social human–robot interactions are discussed.