Why robots need body for mind communication - an attempt of eye-contact between human and robot

An eye-contact robot, a robot which can establish an eye-contact with humans is being developed. Most researchers agree that an eye-contact is not simply "simultaneously looking at each other\´s eyes", but a mutual recognition of a shared attention by an intentional agent. Our argument is that an eye-contact is itself a procedure to confirm the partner\´s intentionality (being an intentional agent). The aim of our research are explained, and the result of an interaction experiment is reported. It is found that an eye-contact from a robot has some effect on the stance a human take to the robot.