Do Desktop Robots Need Real Human Speech, or Are Expressive Sounds Enough? (1 Viewer)

[Jerry]

I’ve been thinking about this lately and I’m curious how people feel.

For desk-side robots, some communicate using clear human speech,
while others mostly rely on expressive sounds / “alien language” + animations.

Personally, I’m kind of torn.
Human speech can be genuinely helpful for things like reminders or alarms?
At the same time, I really like the Loona / aibi / EMO style of expressive “alien” sounds — because pets like dogs and cats don’t speak either, and we still love them.
But sometimes I wonder if that style becomes too vague in “useful” moments — like reminders or alarms. For example: when a timer goes off, do you actually want the robot to say real words?

• Do you want a desktop robot to speak real human language?
• Or do you prefer Loona-style expressive sounds / alien language most of the time?
• If you do want human speech, in which situations is it truly necessary?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Chris]

I enjoy a little bit of human speech. My first robot was the ERS-7, and thinking about it now a major reason I was probably interested in it was its ability to talk. I find the current 1000 which only has expressive sounds incredibly boring by comparison.

A little bit of human speech that allows you to greet the robot, ask how each other are going and say goodbye, I would find enjoyable and a feature that makes the robot feel more real and interactions more authentic. Bonus if it can comment on a visual feature and work it into the conversation offline. But too much human speech or only communicating via speech might cause me not to use the robot frequently as I find AI a drag to talk to. Expressive sounds still play a vital role for me but are not enough for me on their own.