Conversational Flow in Human-Robot Interactions at the Workplace: Comparing Humanoid and Android Robots

This article deals with the conversational flow during human-robot interactions at the workplace. We conducted an experimental field study in a company setting. Drawing on computer-as-social-actor (CASA) paradigm, we argue that employees might mindlessly apply social rules in conversations with service robots which is reflected in the degree of conversational flow. We examined to which extent the structure of the Conversational Skills Rating Scale (CSRS) can be replicated with real-life human-robot interactions and whether there are differences in conversational flow between humanoid robots, android robots and humans. We could show that the conversational flow in such service settings at the workplace is based on the factors expressiveness, coordination and composure. The results show that android robots can evoke a higher level of expressiveness in employees than humanoid robots. To our knowledge, our study is the first to compare different aspects of conversational flow towards service robots in a real workplace setting. Since conversational flow can create social bonds and satisfy social needs, companies should use this knowledge when considering using robots in customer or employee contact.