Designing robotic avatars Are user´s impression affected by avatar´s age?

This paper explores the relationship between the aging cue of a robotic avatar and the level of intelligence and safety perceived by the elderly as users. This initial study found that the avatar aging cue indeed, affects the elderly in their perception of the embodied robot, in terms not only of its intelligence but also of its safety: the elderly perceived the robot more intelligent and safer with older avatars. Due to the fact that the elderly perceived the aging cue of avatars as an effect of their expectation and interactions with the robot, the finding related to the avatar-user aging cue influences in the design of a series of attributions of the embodied robot. Therefore, the result of this study can provide interaction designers with a guideline in creating the visual appearance of an embodied agency in terms of its aging cue.