How Quickly Should a Robot Respond?

It
Can Stall for Time

Humans want communications robots to respond
within two seconds, although it doesn’t bother them if a robot says “uh,” or
“well” to stall for more time, researchers at Japan’s Advanced
Telecommunications Research Institute and Keio University found.

“We
wanted to think about the limitation, how long should we wait for a robot’s
response,” said Toshiyuki Shiwa, who presented a paper at the Third
International Conference on Human-Robot Int eraction in Amsterdam.

In a
task where a user asked a robot to move a trash can to another room, a
one-second delay was found to be fine. Two seconds was about the limit, he said,
in line with the “two second rule” which says people want a speedy response from
other electronics, including TVs and telephones.