The influence of modality and transparency on trust in human-robot interaction

Abstract

We examine the effects of transparency and communication modality on user trust in a human-robot interaction scenario. To better understand the emerging topic of transparency, we have varied the levels of information that a robotic teammate provided to participants and measured their trust responses. Additionally, we varied the modality (text, auditory, and graphic) the robotic teammate used when communicating with the participant. Participants reported higher trust levels in the constant level of information, the condition in which they were provided with a constant information stream from the robotic team member. Differences in communication modality had little influence on trust ratings.