This paper investigates the sound design of robots in films and their potential influence on the field of social robotics. Cinematic robot portrayals have inspired researchers and practitioners in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). While the non-verbal sounds of iconic film robots like R2-D2 and Wall-E have been explored, this study takes a more comprehensive approach. We explore a broader selection of 15 films featuring humanoid robots across decades through a semiotic analysis of their nonverbal communication sounds, including those related to movements and internal mechanisms . Informed by Bateman and Schmidt’s multimodal film analysis framework, which draws on Saussure’s organization of signs through paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations, our analysis interprets the paradigmatic axis as an examination of the sound and the syntagmatic axis as an exploration of the events surrounding the sound. The findings uncover two primary film robot sound materials: mechanical and synthetic. Furthermore, the analysis revealed several narrative themes, categorized into two groups based on the syntagmatic focus: sounds associated with the robots’ visual appearances and sounds linked to the broader elements within the scene. The discussion section explores the implications of these findings for social robotics, including the importance of sound materials, the role of movement sounds in communication and emotional expression, and the significance of narrative and context in human-robot interaction. The paper also acknowledges the challenges in translating film sound design into practical applications in social robotics. This study provides valuable insights for HRI researchers, practitioners, and sound designers seeking to enhance non-verbal auditory expressions in social robots.

The health of the Baltic Sea is under heavy human-induced pressures exacerbated by climate change. This study explores the use of interactive sonification for functionally raising awareness and communicating negative emotions about vessel emissions in the Baltic Sea and how it can contribute to making sense of that data. A prototype of an interactive Baltic Sea map incorporating interactive sonification of vessel data was created. The prototype was evaluated in exploratory prototype sessions followed by semi-structured interviews with 10 participants divided into two groups, one receiving both visual and sonic feedback and the other receiving only visual feedback. The two groups used the prototype to identify vessels’ data and shape their perception of the vessels’ emissions. Observed differences between the two groups in stated emotions, use of metaphoric language, and identification of positive and negative vessels on the map indicate that the interactive sonification elicited emotional reactions as part of a sense-making process.

We investigated whether differences in light levels and spectral properties have effects on motion. Twenty-two participants, divided into groups of two, experienced the same room in two diffused light conditions (daylight [DL] or static artificial light [AL]), which were experienced in a repeated measures design layout, controlled for order. Both light conditions offered a stimulus of at least 250 melanopic equivalent daylight illuminance (mEDI) lux, without a view. Participants were observed during an individual reading session and a collaborative construction game session. We measured the connectivity of the built structures, activity by actigraphy, and we automatically extracted motion area and quantity of motion from video analysis. We found a correlation between mEDI values in the two light conditions (DL or AL) and activity and a correlation between light condition and motion area. Diffuse daylight conditions were correlated with lower activity and less extended motion than a diffuse static condition at levels recommended for office lighting and to ensure alerting responses. Indeed, static AL was found to be related to increased spatial exploration, which might indicate restlessness, and high mEDI to a more composed motion. Actigraphy measurements correlate with quantity of motion values; therefore, the two methods provided comparable results. Results also showed a high correlation between all photometric values in the daylight condition. These findings offer arguments for favoring DL conditions in the design of places where it is desirable to avoid fidgetiness, like educational institutions, and to support composed motion, like medical institutions.

The sound design of different fantastical aspects can tell the audience much about characters and things. Robots are one of the common fantastical characters that need to be sonified to indicate different aspects of their character. Often, one or more of these traits are an indication of gender and behavior. We investigated these traits in a survey where we asked both quantitative and qualitative questions about the participants' perceptions. We found that participants indicated a bias towards certain robots depending on perceived femininity and masculinity.

Sound can benefit human-robot interaction, but little work has explored questions on the design of nonverbal sound for robots. The unique confluence of sound design and robotics expertise complicates these questions, as most roboticists do not have sound design expertise, necessitating collaborations with sound designers. We sought to understand how roboticists and sound designers approach the problem of robot sound design through two qualitative studies. The first study followed discussions by robotics researchers in focus groups, where these experts described motivations to add robot sound for various purposes. The second study guided music technology students through a generative activity for robot sound design; these sound designers in-training demonstrated high variability in design intent, processes, and inspiration. To unify the two perspectives, we structured recommendations through the design thinking framework, a popular design process. The insights provided in this work may aid roboticists in implementing helpful sounds in their robots, encourage sound designers to enter into collaborations on robot sound, and give key tips and warnings to both.

This study explores if, and how, the choices made regarding a robot's speaking voice and characteristic body sounds influence viewers' perceptions of its intent i.e., whether the robot's intention is positive or negative. The analysis focuses on robot representations and sounds in three films: "Robots"(2005) [1], "NextGen"(2018) [2], and "Love, Death, and Robots - Three Robots"(2019) [3]. In eight qualitative interviews, five parameters (tonality, intonation, volume, pitch, and speed) were used to understand robot sounds and the participant's perception of a robot's attitude and intentions. The study culminates in a set of recommendations and considerations for human-robot interaction designers to consider while sound coding for body, physiology, and movement.

This paper describes the development of an interactive tool which allows playing different soundscapes by mixing diverse environmental sounds on demand. This tool is titled Our Sound Space (OSS) and has been developed as part of an ongoing project where we test methods and tools for the participation of young people in spatial planning. As such OSS is meant to offer new opportunities to engage youth in talks about planning, placemaking and more sustainable living environments. In this paper, we describe an implementation of OSS that we are using as an interactive soundscape installation sited in a public place daily visited by people from a diversity of entities (e.g. university, a gymnasium, a restaurant, start-ups). The OSS installation is designed to allow simultaneous activation of several prerecorded sounds broadcast through four loudspeakers. The installation is interactive, meaning that it can be activated and operated by anyone via smartphones and is designed to allow interaction among multiple people at the same time and space.

Politeness is at the core of the common set of behavioral norms that regulate human communication and is therefore of significant interest in the design of Human-Robot Interactions. In this paper, we investigate how the politeness behaviors of a humanoid robot impact human decisions about where to join a group of two robots. We also evaluate the resulting impact on the perception of the robot's politeness. In a study involving 59 participants, the main (Pepper) robot in the group invited participants to join using six politeness behaviors derived from Brown and Levinson's politeness theory. It requests participants to join the group at the furthest side of the group which involves more effort to reach than a closer side that is also available to the participant but would ignore the request of the robot. We evaluated the robot's effectiveness in terms of persuasiveness, politeness, and clarity. We found that more direct and explicit politeness strategies derived from the theory have a higher level of success in persuading participants to join at the furthest side of the group. We also evaluated participants' adherence to social norms i.e. not walking through the center, or \textit{o-space}, of the group when joining it. Our results showed that participants tended to adhere to social norms when joining at the furthest side by not walking through the center of the group of robots, even though they were informed that the robots were fully automated. 

This paper presents three studies where we probe aesthetics strategies of sound produced by movement sonification of a Pepper robot by mapping its movements to sound models.

We developed two sets of sound models. The first set was made by two sound models, a sawtooth-based one and another based on feedback chains, for investigating how the perception of synthesized robot sounds would depend on their design complexity. We implemented the second set of sound models for probing the “materiality” of sound made by a robot in motion. This set consisted of a sound synthesis based on an engine highlighting the robot’s internal mechanisms, a metallic sound synthesis highlighting the robot’s typical appearance, and a whoosh sound synthesis highlighting the movement.

We conducted three studies. The first study explores how the first set of sound models can influence the perception of expressive gestures of a Pepper robot through an online survey. In the second study, we carried out an experiment in a museum installation with a Pepper robot presented in two scenarios: (1) while welcoming patrons into a restaurant and (2) while providing information to visitors in a shopping center. Finally, in the third study, we conducted an online survey with stimuli similar to those used in the second study.

Our findings suggest that participants preferred more complex sound models for the sonification of robot movements. Concerning the materiality, participants liked better subtle sounds that blend well with the ambient sound (i.e., less distracting) and soundscapes in which sound sources can be identified. Also, sound preferences varied depending on the context in which participants experienced the robot-generated sounds (e.g., as a live museum installation vs. an online display).