Robots as assistive technology - does appearance matter?

This work studies the effect of a robot´s design (appearance) in facilitating and encouraging interaction of children with autism with a small humanoid robot. The paper compares the children´s level of interaction with the response to the robot in two different scenarios: one where the robot was dressed like a human (with a ´pretty-girl´ appearance) with an uncovered face, and the other, when it appeared with plain clothing and with a featureless, masked face. The results of these, trials clearly indicate the children´s preference in their initial response for interaction with a plain, featureless robot over interaction with a human like robot.