Silicon.com - Robots - the more human the better, study finds

Winston Chai writes for CNET News.com
Mon 2 June 2003 10:06AM BST

"Sometimes people are afraid of robots," says researcher. Funny that.
Imitation is not just the best form of flattery - it's also good interface design. A study shows that talking computers that copy a user's unique vocal inflections seem easier to use.
The researchers think that a key component of machine likeability is the ability to mirror the 'music' - the rhythm and pitch - of a user's speech.
This finding stemmed from an experiment conducted by Japanese researcher Noriko Suzuki's team at ATR Media Information Science Laboratories in Kyoto, reported scientific journal New Scientist.
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