Towards anthropomorphized spaces: Human responses to anthropomorphization of a space using attached body parts

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a method of anthropomorphizing a target space using attachable robotic human parts. As a result of this method, users may perceive a space as having lifelike characteristics and may accept a virtual body image for various objects. We developed robotic human parts to evaluate our method and conducted an experiment in which subjects positioned objects according to instructions given within an anthropomorphic space to determine their acceptance of the virtual body images presented and the anthropomorphic representation of the space. The results showed that subjects’ positioning of objects changed according to the position of the human parts. We found that our method successfully generated a virtual body image for a particular region that would not normally be recognized in this way by users.