People’s mental model of robots is of importance since it can influence their expectations of how a robot should appear and behave, which in turn will affect the interaction between human and robot.The current mental model of robots is influenced by the presence ofrobots in films. Thus, understanding the principles of the design ofrobots in film would benefit the design of robots in the real world.

This extended abstract presents an ongoing investigation of the use of non-verbal sounds of robot in films. Specifically, the investigation looks into the purpose of the sounds, how they are designed, and how the sound design has changed throughout the history of films. Preliminary result suggests the presence of a categoriza-tion of robotic sounds in films: inner workings, communication of movement, and expression of emotion.

While further sound design principles are still being formulated,we would argue that having this historical perspective would benefitthe understanding of the current expectation of how a robot shouldsound, thus laying the groundwork for further research in the useof sound in HRI.