Help-giving robot behaviors in child-robot games: Exploring Semantic Free Utterances

We present initial findings from an experiment where we used Semantic Free Utterances - vocalizations and sounds without semantic content - as an alternative to Natural Language in a child-robot collaborative game. We tested (i) if two types of Semantic Free Utterances could be accurately recognized by the children; (ii) what effect the type of Semantic Free Utterances had as part of help-giving behaviors with in situ child-robot interaction. We discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls of Semantic Free Utterances for child-robot interaction.