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Humanoid robots (i.e., robots with a human-like body) are projected to be mass marketed in the future in several fields of application. Today, however, user evaluations of humanoid robots are often based on mediated depictions rather than actual observations or interactions with a robot, which holds true not least for scientific user studies. People can be confronted with robots in various modes of presentation, among them (1) 2D videos, (2) 3D, i.e., stereoscopic videos, (3) immersive Virtual Reality (VR), or (4) live on site. A systematic investigation into how such differential modes of presentation influence user perceptions of a robot is still lacking. Thus, the current study systematically compares the effects of different presentation modes with varying immersive potential on user evaluations of a humanoid service robot. Participants (N = 120) observed an interaction between a humanoid service robot and an actor either on 2D or 3D video, via a virtual reality headset (VR) or live. We found support for the expected effect of the presentation mode on perceived immediacy. Effects regarding the degree of human likeness that was attributed to the robot were mixed. The presentation mode had no influence on evaluations in terms of eeriness, likability, and purchase intentions. Implications for empirical research on humanoid robots and practice are discussed.

This work is targeted towards the development of a Robotic Elderly Assistant (REA) system that provides assistance in the form of recommendations to support single-living elderly people in their domestic environment. To avoid potential face threats the REA should be as polite as possible whilst keeping a certain persuasiveness to promote its recommendations. This paper investigates different verbalizations of the REA's recommendations regarding their perceived politeness as well as their persuasiveness. We present the results of a laboratory study with younger adults and a user study with the inhabitants of a retirement home. Results suggest that the different politeness strategies reflected different levels of politeness in both studies, while their perceived persuasiveness needs further investigation in the domain of elderly care.

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