Not a wholly misleading blog title here. Following chats with various people I decided to do a test to see how people reacted to my robot - without its head. Or should I say, without a face. I gave the robot a human head as I felt that this would allow people to empathise more with it. This, in turn, would encourage them to donate money toward the stranded robot rather than pass on by. However, like any balanced experiment, I thought I would try and proove myself wrong here by taking of the head of my current prototype and set it loose on Dundee University campus. The goal was the same as last time - get to the library though coin donations - and it had the same mobility issue as my new motors are yet to arrive. I also tried with a variety of coloured flags as I have neglected this part of the design a wee bit but heres a start to considering it.
Not entirely sure what I have learnt from the flag variations. Aesthetically, they definitely all look better than the previous iteration but not sure which colour was most effective. As for the head, I definitely noticed a difference in reaction from passers by. With a face, passers by would take that second glance which occasionally lead to a donation however, though some people still pause to read the flag and donate, there where many people to glanced and carried on by.
I think this is clear reasoning as to why my robot needs a face of sorts. It is something for people to empathise with, like a lost child (though not as distressing!). Something that will grab their attention long enough to be intrigued for the second glance and (hopefully) a donation.