Using attachable humanoid parts for realizing imaginary intention and body image

We propose a new approach to human-robot interaction (HRI) in which a common target object is anthropomorphized using attachable humanoid parts. With this approach, the user perceives that the target has an intention and senses what the imaginary body of the target looks like through the attached body parts. We experimented how users accepted the intentions and imaginary body image of a common target object using the humanoid parts. We also compared the resulting HRI with that in the case of the general communication robot Robovie to demonstrate the possibilities our proposed method offers. The results indicated that an anthropomorphized target object can interact with users through this approach. Furthermore, in comparison to interaction with an independent communication robot, with this approach, users remembered the functions of the anthropomorphized target to a greater extent and were more intimate with it.