Costume vs. Wizard of Oz vs. Telepresence: How Social Presence Forms of Tele-operated Robots Influence Customer Behavior

In this study, we explore the effective form of social presence for a tele-operated robot to provide customer service. Particularly, we address the question on if and how a tele-operated robot displays the presence of an operator, and what effects it would have on people's perception and behavior toward it. We launched a tele-operated robot in a supermarket and had it deliver recipe flyers. We adjusted the robot's social presence by showing or not showing the photo of an operator's face (F) and using or not using voice conversion (V), leading to three forms of presence: Wizard of Oz (F: no, V: yes), costume (F: yes, V: yes), and telepresence (F: yes, V: no), which indicated the operator's presence from a low to a high level. We determined that the customers behaved significantly different when they faced the tele-operated robot in different forms. Our robot that exhibited a moderate presence of the operator (costume form) achieved the overall best performance. Based on these findings, we discuss both the strengths and weaknesses of the three forms of presence for a tele-operated robot and recommend the appropriate form for various applications.