Mechanical handshakes seal the deal
SHAKING hands before negotiations results in a better deal for both parties – even when one is represented by a robot, a study has found. The act of shaking hands at the start of a conversation has already been shown to create better cooperation and trust between humans.
Research has now found that these benefits extend when a robot takes the place of a human – who is situated remotely – during a business meeting.
Scientists say using robots provides a powerful two-way experience that allows people to have a physical presence in a distant place unlike using Skype or video conferencing.
Developing such interaction could lead to robots conducting business meetings or allowing people with severely limited mobility to interact with the world in a unique way.
The study, by the University of Bath, used Nao, a 58-cm tall humanoid robot which was designed to be a companion around the house, in mock real-estate negotiations.
One person – assigned the role of buyer or seller – was present in the meeting with Nao while the other took part in the meeting through the robot’s in-built head camera and microphone.
Touch sensitive sensors in the robot’s hand transmitted a signal when it was grasped, leading to a controller in the remote person’s hand to vibrate at the same time.
“These findings underline the significance of touch and the simple gesture of a handshake, and will be important as we work to further develop robot systems with valuable applications across society.”
In each session of the experiment, one person performed their role through a computer using Nao, which enabled them to see and hear their business partner but not be present in the room.
The person who was present and interacting with Nao could hear the other through the robot’s built in speakers but could not see them.
Researchers varied the experiment with negotiations conducted either with no handshake at the beginning, or with handshakes with and without vibration to the remote person.
The robot was used to represent both buyers and sellers, in 60 mock real-estate deals worth between $38-million and $66-million (R449.2-million to R780.2-million). – The Telegraph