Publication
From automation to telepresence: exploring voice preferences in humanoid robots
Conference Article
Conference
Iberian Robotics Conference (ROBOT)
Edition
2025
Doc link
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Authors
Projects associated
Abstract
As humanoid robots become increasingly embedded in ev- eryday environments, understanding how their characteristics shape user experience is critical. While prior research has examined how a robot’s voice and appearance influence perceived emotional traits in autonomous systems, the role of voice in teleoperated robots remains underexplored. This paper presents a study investigating how the robot’s voice affects user perception during its transition from autonomous control to human teleoperation. Participants, initially unaware of the switch, evaluated the robot’s likeability, anthropomorphism, animacy, and perceived interac- tion speed across different voice types. After being informed that the robot was teleoperated, participants reflected on their voice preferences and the rationale behind them. Results revealed a strong preference for the human operator’s voice, attributed to its natural tone, fluency, and faster response times. These findings underscore the significance of voice quality in teleoperated robot design and suggest that voice can play a pivotal role in shaping transparency, trust, and user engagement during human-robot interactions.
Categories
humanoid robots, telerobotics.
Author keywords
Human-robot interaction, social robots, teleoperated robots
Scientific reference
L.B. Hriscu, A. Sanfeliu and A. Garrell Zulueta. From automation to telepresence: exploring voice preferences in humanoid robots, 2025 Iberian Robotics Conference, 2025, Porto, Portugal, Springer, to appear.
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