Exploring the Effects of Emotion Appropriateness on User Perception: A Delivery Drone Case Study

The growing presence of drones in human spaces has sparked curiosity regarding their role as social creatures. One approach to conveying the social aspects of robotic devices is to incorporate emotions. However, the social effects of emotions depend on their perceived appropriateness by humans. In this work, we investigate the psychological effects of appropriate vs. inappropriate emotions displayed on a drone in a delivery scenario. Through an online study (N =97), we observe significant differences in how people ascribe social attributes to a drone, understand both its functional acceptance (e.g., ease of use, usefulness), social acceptance (e.g., drone as an interaction partner), and assess its social competencies and human-like attributes. Overall, for a given situation of interaction, the drone is perceived more (resp. less) positively when displaying appropriate (resp. inappropriate) emotions. We conclude with a discussion on the use of emotions in drones and their psychological effects on users. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of emotion appropriateness and social interactions in robotics.