From "Made In" to Mukokuseki: Exploring the Visual Perception of National Identity in Robots

TL;DR

This study investigates how the visual design of robots influences perceptions of national identity, revealing effects of 'made-in' and 'mukokuseki' features on cross-cultural recognition and interaction.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of 'mukokuseki' in robot design and empirically examines its impact on perceptions across American and Japanese audiences.

Findings

Evidence of 'made-in' effects in robot perception

Identification of two types of 'mukokuseki' effects

Design suggestions for culturally neutral robots

Abstract

People read human characteristics into the design of social robots, a visual process with socio-cultural implications. One factor may be nationality, a complex social characteristic that is linked to ethnicity, culture, and other factors of identity that can be embedded in the visual design of robots. Guided by social identity theory (SIT), we explored the notion of "mukokuseki," a visual design characteristic defined by the absence of visual cues to national and ethnic identity in Japanese cultural exports. In a two-phase categorization study (n=212), American (n=110) and Japanese (n=92) participants rated a random selection of nine robot stimuli from America and Japan, plus multinational Pepper. We found evidence of made-in and two kinds of mukokuseki effects. We offer suggestions for the visual design of mukokuseki robots that may interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Our findings have implications for robots and social identity, the viability of robotic exports, and the use of robots internationally.